Troubled Decisions, Tears of Joy
by SakuNarHina
Summary: Naruto has two girls pining for his heart. Who will Naruto choose and how will he sustain friendship with the other? When a rival enters the picture, will the death of one girl solve his dilema? Possible character death. Naru/Saku Naru/Hina.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **The time setting is after the managa chapter 352. I'm not entirely sure what time of the year it is, so for the sake of my plot, it is early October and approaching Naruto's sixtenth birthday. Akatsuki is not a major issue in this story though... not yet.

**Disclaimer:** I think this is where I'm supposed to tell you something important... what was it...? Oh yeah. I do not own Naruto but at least I seem to have _your _attention. Other than that, the only thing that _is_ mine is the continuing plot and any OC's that may appear in the story. Of course I do not take credit for anything taken from the actual series.

_"Thinking or Inner converstation / Dreams"_

**"Kyuubi speaking"**

"Normal speech"

(Author's Note)

Line breaks shown as 'XxX' represents a change in scene and/or location while line breaks shown as 'OoO' represent a change in character POV while staying in the current scene, if needed.

Um... I think that's it.

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* * *

**_**Part One**_

**Troubled Decisions, Tears of Joy**

**Prologue**

Walking home after several hours of training and even more bowls of Ichiraku's ramen, Naruto found himself thinking deeply. And since Naruto never really 'thinks' but daydreams instead, he must be 'thinking' about Sakura, right?

_"Maaan," _the golden haired boy thought to himself, _"She knows I like her, doesn't she? So how come she wont give me at least one chance?"_

Naruto stopped walking for a moment to better concentrate on his thoughts. Distracted by the blazing yellow-gold horizon, he couldn't help but think of Sakura's stunning pink hair.

"Maybe I'm trying too hard... Maybe if I give her some space... maybe if I back off alittle, she will miss my company. Then she'll come to _me_," he added enthusiastically, giving himself a glimmer of hope after putting some real thought into it. With a sigh, he continued, "...but she doesn't even like me," he added sadly, not realizing it was said aloud.

_WHAM!_

Naruto was hit in the back of his head leaving one of those big commical lumps where a fist had made contact.

"You got that right, baka!!" Yelled Sakura overenthusiastically. "As if I could ever like _you_..." She said the last word a little slower than the rest, showing a hint of self doubt in her own words. Naruto, of course, was oblivious to this.

_"Why do I care what he thinks? It's not like I 'like' him or anything... or do I? No... No, of course not. I can't. I like Sasuke. But... why was I following him from Ichiraku's? H-He's my teamate. I was just gonna talk to him. There's nothing wrong with that... So why am I so nervous all of a sudden? Why am I even thinking about it?" _Sakura seemed to be having a struggle with the inner workings of her own mind.

Suddenly, she felt bad for hitting Naruto but she didn't know why. She hit him all the time and it never phased her.

"Owwww... Sakura-chaaan, that hurt," Naruto whined, rubbing the back of his head. "Where'd you come from anyways... Wait-" Naruto, for some reason, became wide-eyed and nervous, "Y-You heard me?" He asked with a slight blush before she could even answer his first question.

Sakura opened her mouth to answer his _obvious_ question, but not before she noticed something in her peripheral vision. Someone's presence. Her eye's darted to their perspective corners as she tried to, inconspicuously, spot their watcher. Seeing how she couldn't see well enough that way and the action was starting to put a slight strain on her eyes, she slowly turned her head to look into the now dark but empty side street. She saw nothing... at first. But a second, closer look showed her what she thought she might have seen the first time. A shadow. But it was retreating away from the scene.

"Uh... I-I should be... going..." Sakura said slowly, clearly distracted and not even looking at Naruto.

"Huh? Wa-Wait!" Naruto called out to her, but she was already gone.

"Ugh, can't I get any respect around here?" Naruto said to himself, picking himself up off the ground and brushing himself off. "Things seemed to have gone completely back to normal, though. You would think she'd be a little nicer to me after all that time I was gone..." He continued on his way home, muttering something to himself incoherently.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"I was sure I saw it over here somewhere..." The pink haired kunoichi said to herself.

Deciding not to give up so easily, she rushed to the end of the street hoping to catch up to whoever it was spying on her and Naruto only a few moments ago.

As she got to the end of the street, to Sakura's dismay, it broke into two separate streets. Of course she knew it would. She lived here after all. Not yet ready to give up, she first looked to the left only to, once again, find nothing, so she then looked to her right, expecting to find the same result, but to her surprise, she saw it again. The shadow quickly disappeared around another street corner.

Hopes rising, she pumped more chakra into her feet to give herself a jump start, though she couldn't help but get a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was off...

Upon reaching the street corner down which the shadow had disappeard, she was, once again, surprised to see the figure in the distance.

Something certainly felt odd to her. Not wasting any time, she raced down the street.

"If this person was a shinobi, surely they'd have made their escape by now," she thought reassuringly to herslf.

She was finally close enough to the target to make out some of its features, but being even darker than it was before, it was difficult to know anything for sure. The figure definately had long dark hair, so it could be a women... unless it was henge, but if that were the case, then it would definately be a shinobi she'd be confronting. Being in Konoha, this mysterious and possible 'ninja' should be an ally, hopefully, so all _should _be safe. She continued running down the darkening streets, past closed shops and quiet homes.

Now close enough to physically touch the person, she drew her hand out to turn the person around by the shoulder.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_"I can tell she's getting too close. It's now or never, or I'll be caught..."_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Almost trembling, nervous to find out who this person was, she had barely placed her hand on their shoulder before there was no longer a solid grip to hold onto.

_POOF!_

The startled kunoichi jumped back in surprise, half expecting someone to attack at any moment, but when nothing else happened, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn it," she cursed herself for being fooled so easily. "A clone... but whose?" She wondered aloud. She realized the clone, obviously a distraction, was used so the original could probably go the opposite direction. With this in mind, Sakura started thinking of canidates.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Phew...that was close," The pale-eyed indigo haired girl said to herself as her clones memories came back to her. She closed the shoji door behind her, slipped off her sandles and pushed them into the closet with her foot before retreating upstairs to her room, trying not to wake anyone along the way.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata sighed with dreamy eyes.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Walking down the hallway with his hands behind his head and lost in thought, Naruto made his way to his apartment without his usual carefree grin, but almost a frown instead. Having come to his door, he unlocked it, not that having it locked would do him any good in a shinobi village anyways. He turned the knob and while he pushed the door open, he lazily listened to the boring squeek it usually gave upon it's swing. He then strode through the doorway.

His barely frowning face soon turned into a complete frown as he looked around the almost empty room. Once again, he was alone. There was never anyone here to greet him when he got home save for the occasional masked Jounin or white spikey haired Sannin that popped by occasionally to gloat about his new book or something else entirely unimportant. But stuff like that happens to you when you're an orphan.

Kicking the door closed behind him, Naruto went to his room and dropped his keys on his bed side table, next to the Team Seven picture frame and alarm clock and lazily plopped himself onto his bed.

Thinking about the incident with Sakura earlier, he wondered what he should do... or at least he would have if he had not immediately fallen asleep. A dream clouded his mind.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_"Hey Sakura-chan!"_

_A beautiful young kunoichi half turned as she looked to see the where the voice was coming from. With the sun above her, the light shone brilliantly off of her pink hair and made her skin even more radiant. She beemed a smile in Naruto's direction._

_"Hey, Naruto-kun," she happily replied to his cry._

_"You wanna come get some ramen with me?" He asked hopefully._

_"I would love to..." Still beaming her smile at him, showing no signs of reluctance, she agreed._

The scene abruptly ended before it was finished. Darkness was now the only thing he could register until he started hearing voices in the distance, but he couldn't see from where or who was talking.

_"Hey, how was your first day as Captain?" Asked a female voice. "Did your new ANBU team give you a rough time, __captain__?"_

_"Same as usual... except for on my way up here. There was this one guy in the lobby... It was kinda hard to tell from behind his dark sunglasses but I think he was staring at me. He asked if I was somebody else, but I think that was just an excuse for his stares," replied the blond._

_"Maybe he was checking you out," she replied sarcastically. "Who was he?"_

_"How should I know? He was just some ninja... but not from our village."_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura stepped into her room, clearly frustrated, yet a little worried, at that night's events.

Soon her thoughts started to wander off that particular topic.

"Oh!" She gasped as she remembered how she left Naruto so abruptly in the street... on his ass. She frowned at herself when she realized she hadn't even bothered to help him up. She felt bad about it and wondered if she should buy him an apologetic bowl of ramen tomarrow to make up for it. Thoughts vaguely ushered her as to why she even remotely cared, but she brushed them away. He was her teammate, she _should_ care.

"Ramen is the cure to everything with him," she amusedly thought out loud.

"Wait a minute..." Sakura paused. "Could he considered that a date?" She asked herself.

She started thinking about how this 'date' would go and when she found herself unintentionally smiling at the idea, she snapped back to reality.

"I was not just fantasizing about going on a date with Naruto," She told herself adamently, but once again, she found herself thinking that it didn't really sound like _such_ a bad idea. "That's not right... but I supoose I could give him just _one_ chance... Just to see how things _might _work out. It'll just be another day, not a date," she convinced herself.

"But what about..." Her mind started to stray off topic _again_ to a certain raven haired boy before finally bringing herself back to the matter at hand. "No. He had his chance..."

"I'll ask him tomarrow, but I have to be nonchalant about it... I can't let him think it's a date or he'll never let me live it down," she said aloud to herself. She started thinking about how she would approach him.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"That's it!" She exclaimed, not meaning to say it out loud but unable to contain her excitement. She continued, more quietly, "Maybe, if all goes well afterwards... just maybe I can finally confess my true feelings for him!" Her voice was unintentionally steadily growing louder once more, "He's always happiest _there_, so that's where I'll tell him... maybe after lunch," She blushed, self doubt always creeping behind everything she did or said.

At that moment, the shogi door to her room slid open, revealing a groggy pale-eyed Hanabi. "Keep it down, some people are _actually_ trying to sleep you know," she said wearily with a yawn.

"Ah... S-Sorry!" Replied Hinata, with a slight shade of pink showing even brighter on her smooth tender cheeks. She was slightly worried that her sister might've heard too much, unaware that almost everybody knew about her puppy love.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hmph, I found you," said a yet unknown voice with an evil sneer forming on the man's lips. "It won't be long now before-"

"Hey! What are you doing there?! State your name and business at once!" A patrol ninja demanded.

The figure slowly turned on the spot, looking more annoyed than worried. The man started to speak, sounding somewhat bored.

"My name... is not important," he started, with very little interest. "My business, however..." In an instant, the mysterious ninja had diasappeared and reappeared behind the patrol ninja. His head lowered over the the guard's left shoulder, his mouth right by his ear, he whispered, "...is to remove anyone who gets in my way." With a hard chakra induced jab to his spine, the patrol ninja was apparently dead before he even hit the ground, as he was unable to provide any resistance to break his own fall. Unfortunately, his presence was alerted to others.

"Along with anybody else who wishes to stop me," he finished. He watched as more ninja showed up to investigate the commotion. He then stepped over the motionless body and proceeded to walk towards the other ninja.

**

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****A/N:** Oooh, alittle bit of a mystery on our hands. I hope this has kept your attention. Sorry for all the scene splits. I needed to get everything in the open.

Until Next Time...


	2. It's a Start

**Chapter One**

**It's a Start**

_"Good morning. How'd you sleep?" Asked the dark haired woman._

_"Ehh," the blond replied, unsure._

_"What is it?"_

_"I been having these strange dreams lately, that's all."_

_"Dreams... Sounds like something __she__ told me once..." The dark haired woman replied, though barely audible._

_"What?"_

_"Oh. Nothing."_

_"No, it was something... C'mon, tell me. You are always mumbling something about your past then you suddenly shut up... Tell me something, please," the blond asked pleadingly, hoping to finally get some answers from the unforthgiving woman._

_"Begging? That's not like you..."_

_"Don't change the subject! How come you are always so silent on this matter? What's so bad about learning of your past?" The blond implored._

_"Eat your food."_

********

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ita...daki...masu," Naruto spoke in his sleep, drooling on his pillow, seemingly trying to eat it.

Naruto rolled over, and with a hard thud, managed to roll right off his bed and onto the hard wooden floor.

"Uhhh... huh? Where'd my... my ramen... gone?" He muttered with a yawn, apparently still half asleep.

With some effort, Naruto sat up and looked around. Being on the floor, his surroundings, for some reason, seemed slightly taller than usual. When he finally realized he was no longer in his bed, he wondered how long he'd been on the hard floor. He assumed it wasn't long since his head still hurt from the landing but that wasn't the only thing his head felt like. He probed his mind to find the answer.

_"Was I dreaming? _He asked himself inwardly. He could distinctly remember two people talking. One sounded so very much like his own, like he should know the person, and the other sounded... different. His short attention span soon took over as he shrugged away the feeling to make room for another. _Hunger_.

Naruto tried to stand up but only fell over again, entangled in a mass of blankets and a pillow that made no effort to break his fall. Letting out a groan and muttering incoherently at the situation he literally landed in, he finally freed himself of his blankets before walking to his kitchen to get something to drink to satisfy his parched throat. He had not had anything to drink since the ramen broth the previous night.

Searching his cupboards proved pointless, unless he was looking for dust. Upon looking in, he found that it was completely void of food. He grunted at the lack of ramen he had stored. He made a mental note to stock up on ramen next time he was out. With another grunt, he opened the refridgerator only to find left over miso soup from who knows when and a half carten of old milk. Feeling defeated in his endeavors, he reluctanly took the soup and milk from the refridgerator and dumped them both down the sink. He surely was not going to make the same the same mistake as he did so many years ago when he drank that spoiled milk. He remembered how that one mistake not only ruined his day, but also prevented him from getting to kiss Sakura while pretending to be Sasuke.

After throwing away his potentially poisonous breakfast, Naruto jumped in the shower to rinse off last night's activities. Obviously unsatisfied with his nonexistant breakfast, Naruto decided he would stop by Ichiraku's before heading off to the nearby training grounds he attended so often. He prefered it since it was the closest to his favorite ramen stand.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Hinata woke with a start. She wasn't sure why, but this day felt different. She felt excited. She couldn't wait to tell him, but at the same time, she was dreading it. She was afraid of what he would say. Thinking this way, she couldn't help but wonder if she could actually muster up the courage to confess, or if she would back out like she usually did and make some lame excuse to cover up as to why she really wanted to talk to him. She thought of all the times she stood in front of her mirror, practicing her confession countless times trying to get it right. She always blushed, even though she knew it was her reflection she was talking to, she always saw _him _in her mind.

Hinata couldn't stop herself as her cheeks warmed up, showing the familiar pink hue on her cheeks. She was so transfixed in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice her younger sister walk into her room where the young Hyuga heiress was staring off into space... in the mirror.

"Ahem!" Hanabi cleared her throught to announce her presence. "Perhaps you should start the morning chores before father gets up," she uncharacteristically warned.

Hinata was surprised at her younger sister's thoughtful warning but she could help but wonder if she only did so because the girl herself, wanted her tea and breakfast. She was sure that was the case because most of the time, Hanabi subtly enjoyed watching her older sister being chastised by their father for not doing her duties properly. She quickly finished her morning chores as if it would make the day go by faster and immediately started on tea and breakfast.

Just in time, Hinata finished preparing the morning meal along with their warm drinks and set the last plate and cup at their father's place at the table just as he walked in. The monotonous man merely sat as the table to begin his breakfast.

Hinata, satisfied with her performance, poured her own tea. Mint flavored; her favorite. She took her seat at the table to drink her tea as well as eat her own food in silence.

"Good morning, Tou-san," she spoke up with a forced smile and a fake cheery tone.

"Nn..." Hiashi dully sounded in response, effectively hiding his pleasure with the meal he ate before him.

Much too used to this typical behavior already, Hinata finished the rest of her meal in silence. Her thoughts, once again, wandered off to her favorite blond ninja, no doubtedly becoming flushed once more.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Why am I so nervous? This is rediculous... It's not like I'm asking him on a date or anything... not really," she blushed slightly. "I'm just gonna grab a bite to eat with Naruto... that's all. He's my team mate. There's nothing wrong with that... right?" The pink haired kunoichi tried to convince herself before suddenly being interrupted and startled half to death by her bedroom door being slammed open.

"WHAAAT?!" A blond girl screamed in her usual loudmouth manor. "You're going on a date with Naruto?!" She continued as loud as ever.

Positively stunned, she tried to speak, "Wh-What? N-No! Who the hell let you in here, INO-PIG?!" She screamed the last words even louder than the blond.

With a gasp, she countered, "SHUT UP, BILLBOARD-BROW!"

After several minutes of violent insults and even worse comebacks, the two finally calmed down after running out of things to say to each other. They wouldn't be surprised if someone downstairs had thrown in some yells of their own, but they had no way of hearing them over their own yelling.

"So... you never answered my question," Ino said at last, sligtly out of breath but still breaking the short silence.

Before she could stop it, not that she would be able to if she tried, Sakura turn a dark shade of pink at the dreadful reminder.

"Wh-What?" She replied, looking away.

"You know what. Do you... _like_ Naruto?" Ino asked with a slight unnerving sneer to accompany her _very _unnerving question.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Y-Yes, I do... Actually," she started to correct herself, "I-I like him alot. But w-why do you ask?" She enquired, her blush never fading.

"You say his name alot in your sleep. You are almost always watching him. You pass out whenever he gets close to you. And you always blush at the mere mention of his name... just like you are doing now," she answered indifferently.

At this moment, the indigo haired girl brought her hands up to her face in her attempt to hide this fact. The younger Hyuuga continued, paying no mind to her sudden actions. "I figured you did. I just wanted to hear it from your own mouth," the girl shrugged. Deep down, she felt bad for her older sister, and hoped that maybe, just maybe, this talk would give her some confidence.

Lost for words, Hinata was speechless. _"Do I really do all that stuff?" _She thought to herself. She _did _almost always watch him. It had become almost second nature. But no one have ever put it into context for her... then again, no one had ever confronted her about it either.

"A-Ano..." Hinata started to say to her sister after a short silence. Her hands came together, their index fingers began their familiar dance indicating her state of nervousness. "D-Don't tell... Don't t- tell anyo-one? Okay?" Hinata implored to her little sister.

"That wouldn't be neccessary," Hanabi replied simply, and walked out of the room leaving Hinata alone with her thoughts.

Somewhat relieved, yet worried at the same time with her sister's last response, Hinata began to think about what she possibly could have meant by it.

_"If Hanabi-imouto knew... H-How many others know as well? A-Am I that obvious?" _She asked herself in her head. Moments later, she was preparing to leave to commence her 'second nature' and soon bounded out of the Hyuuga complex.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

After a few bowls of Ichiraku's ramen, Naruto paid his bill. "Thanks, old man!" Now satisfied with his full stomach, Naruto happily walked down the street as carefree as ever, with his hands resting behind his head and sporting his usual grin. He was on his way to the usual training grounds to train for a few hours before lunch.

Not paying attention to the stores or other buildings or the streets streaming with playful children, he continued on his way. The blond easily ignored the usual strange stares or looks of hatred he often recieves. He _knew_ why they hated him, but he didn't care. Maybe they would hate him less if they actually tried to understand. He certainly didn't miss these stares when he was on his training trip with Jaraiya either, but some of them weren't all that bad.

He could still remember clearly how different it was... Where people didn't know him or hate him. He smiled as he actually got a few shy looks from a cute girl. Jaraiya, having noticed this, let out his evil sneer as he usually did when he talked about his "research".

_"Hmmm, not bad Naruto. I bet you wouldn't mind researching that beauty..." _He said in his usual haughty manor. Needless to say, Jaraiya slept with a fat lip that night.

When walking with his perverted sensei, he'd often get dirty looks on behalf of Jaraiya. As far as he knew, it was all because of how he behaved. Talking to every girl, flirting. Acting as if he was God's gift to women. He usually got several slaps a day. Once, he even got kicked in the crotch. While walking away, that particular woman had ranted on, something about her 'daughter's innocence'.

The white haired perverted Sannin walked kinda funny for the rest of that day.

Enjoying his path down memory lane, he was rather disappointed when something, or someone distracted him.

They both stopped walking right in the middle of the intersection of a three-way street, him only inches from the girl's side.

"Eh... Hinata?" Naruto said dumbly, not realizing that Hinata had been walking beside him, nor did he realize how much his words impacted Hinata.

_"H-He didnt even notice me...?"_ She blinked, thinking to herself.

"Ah...s-sorry!" She blurted out, blushing like usual.

_"We're so close... he... is so close to me." _She continued inwardly, suddenly feeling faint. Remembering what her sister had previously said, she convinced herself that she wasn't going to faint this time.

"Um... did you want something?" Naruto enquired in his usual stupid demeanor after a moment of awkward silence.

"Ah, sorry!" Hinata blurted out, _again_. Though few in words, she was surprised by her sudden lack of stutter. She hope she could keep it that way.

"A-Ano... _Damn it"_, she cursed herself for the stutter. "I... I didn't w-want to d-d-disturb you in y-your thoughts..." With great difficulty, she forced herself to continue, " A-Ano... do you... er, I mean, w-would you..." With a deep breath, she forced the rest out fluidly, "Would you like to hang out with me today?" She felt proud of herself for the lack of stutter.

"Eh?" Naruto said, once again, dumbly.

"I mean... if you don't want to, that's fine too," she added quickly in a stutter-less panic.

By this time, Hinata was so flushed by the fact that she actually got the words out, she started feeling dizzy. But she praised herself non-the-less, even though it wasn't an actual confession, it was certainly a start.

_"Oh, Kami... Please don't let me faint now,"_ she prayed desperately to herself.

"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed loudly with his wide signature grin plastered on his face beaming down at Hinata. His training could wait.

Surprised by his sudden exclamation, she was a little taken aback by his acceptance. A wave of happiness gushed into her, spreading throughout her body. Her knees seemed to barely hold the pressure.

"O-Okay!" She replied, a little louder than intended. "Eep!" She squeaked, placing her hands over her mouth, realizing how loud she just was. "Ah, s-sorry!" She stuttered, silently cursing herself once again for doing so.

"Nah! Don't sweat it... it was cute!" Naruto blurted out without giving it a second thought... or a first one for that matter.

_"C-c-c-cu-cute?"_ She repeated wildly in her head, her face turning an almost humanly impossible shade of red.

Noticing this change, for once, he placed a hand to her forehead. "Hinata, you feeling okay? Perhaps you should lie down..."

_"He-He-He's touching my-my forehead!" _She thought frantically. She desparately fought to keep hold of her consiousness, but failed. It was too much for Hinata. She lost all thought as she fainted into Naruto's unsuspecting arms. She fell into a sweet serenity of darkness.

"H-Hey, Hinata-chan! I didn't mean here! Wake up!" Naruto panicked while some people walked by, staring and others just kept kept walking not paying any attention to the scene wat-so-ever.

Little did he know, a ceretain pink haired kunoichi left the scene in a hurry. A sudden wave of disappointment washed over her body, though unknown to her as to why she felt that way.

**

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****A/N:** Oohhh, who was that? wink wink I look forward to your reviews and suggestions. Let me know what you think.

Until Next Time...


	3. Feelings

**Chapter Two**

**Feelings**

"Well...?" The blond half-hissed, clearly wanting a verbal response. Her impatience showing not only in her voice, but on her face as well.

Sakura stared around the room frantically, trying to find some sort of escape from Ino's penetrating gaze.

Not only was Ino training to become an acomplished medic-nin, like her friend and rival Sakura, she was also well on her way to becoming a master of the mind.

Sakura knew full well that Ino could read her like a book... just as she was doing now. Normally, it was fairly easy to hide her true feelings from a certain blond, even if she had yet to figure them out herself, but as she learned the hard way, hiding anything from _this _particular blond proved to be much more difficult.

"As much as I wanted to hear it from your own mouth, I already know the answer... even if you don't," the blond kunoichi revealed with mild impatience mixed with disappointment at letting herself give in so easily. But she realized that Sakura wasn't the one she was impatient with. She couldn't wait for the answer and she didn't know why. She felt very nervous for some reason, but hid that well from her pink haired friend

After some time of looking around her room for a scapegoat proved hopeless, Sakura made herself content with staring at the floor.

"I-I... don't know," the thoroughly flushed Sakura finally admitted to the question that, just a couple days ago, she would have answered with utmost confidence that she did not like the blond. She hung her head low, avoiding Ino's steady gaze, as if she should be ashamed.

As if she were reading her mind, Ino interrupted her thoughts.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You are moving on. That's good," she advised, trying to sound wiser than her years permitted her.

"But... I don't know," she said, sounding defeated. Not even Sasuke made her feel this way and she flinched at the idea that Naruto could stir up feelings that Sasuke could not. She never gave her feelings for Sasuke a second thought, but she found herself wondering what was so great about him. What was so great about a guy that never returned her feelings... Not once. Naruto on the other hand...

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as Ino started speaking once more.

"Then we'll just have to find out!" She concluded confidently.

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed immediately perplexed as if on cue, making no effort what-so-ever to hide her shock at Ino's sudden decision.

She was making _that_ face... the one she only made when she was thinking up one of her mischevious schemes.

"Here's what you'll do..." Ino began.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

The busty blonde let out a deep sigh. "Oh well," she said uncaringly. "It's their own damn fault they got themselves killed. So why should I care?" She asked, as if any answer that was given wouldn't make a difference.

Shizune gasped and TonTon...well, 'oinked.'

"Tsunade-sama!" She pleaded.

Tsunade just rolled her eyes, no longer paying attention to the reporting ANBU in front of her. Her gaze soon fell back upon the cloaked figure when he started to speak again.

"Actually... they didn't die. As a matter of fact, it's the manner in which they did _not_ die that you should concern yourself with," the man continued behind his bird-like mask while motioning towards his written report that was placed on her desk upon entry.

Before flipping open the thin black covered booklet, she took a moment to scowl at the ANBU operative for even hinting that he could tell her what _she _should concern herself with. Realizing his mistake, the cloaked figure immediately straightened his posture, trying to stand even more at attention than he was previously.

She opened the black covered booklet and read the opening notes, presumably the most important ones. Something about a pretty nifty lightning jutsu and some other stuff.

"You are dismissed," she said monotonously after reading from the book.

The cloaked figure, once again, stood to attention and replied with a "Hai" and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.

Now letting lose her pleasure, Tsunade broke out the sake bottle she had hidden in her robe just before the ANBU had 'popped' in.

This time it was Shizune's turn to let out a sigh before silently remembering what she had done earlier that day. Nervousness suddenly took over as she started thinking up reasonable excuses to _get the hell outta there_..

"Locate Team Seven," Tsunade ordered bluntly.

"Hai," Shizune obeyed, sounding almost pleased to leave. She turned on her heel and rushed towards the door. Shizune stole a quick glance back at the Hokage before shutting it behind her. "She would have been drunk by the time they got here..." she said to herself, thinking of the Team Seven members.

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at her assistant. She could've sworn there was a smile on her face just as she closed the door...more of an evil smirk, really. Shrugging it off, she poured herself some sake in a small saucer and sipped at it eagerly, closing her eyes as the warm liquid rushed over her tounge. Her eyes snapped back open at the absence of its usual flavor. It wasn't sake, it was...

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"WATER?! SHIZUNE!!" She could hear her name followed by the usual obscenities yelled from across the street inside the Hokage tower. Shortly after, the bottle could be seen crashing through the closed window, shattering the glass. She cringed but couldn't help feeling sastisfied.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

She was going to do it; just as Ino had told her. Besides, what could it hurt...right?

"Besides everything, including me! What if I make a fool of myself? What if someone finds out...?" She stopped walking, positively shocked at the idea. "I have a reputation to keep..." A thought just entered her mind causing her to gasp. "INO! That's it! She's just trying to lure me away from Sasuke! UGH! That conniving little BITCH!" She screamed the last word before looking around her. People were staring. One women was actually leading her children away from the scene as if trying not to catch some sort of disease.

Sakura had not realized she was talking out loud, let alone ranting!

"Eh heh... heh. Oh crap," she said to herself just barely above a whisper. She hung her head down low, as if trying to hide herself and started walking away from the crowd in more of half run to get away from the scene. She kept silent trying not to attract anymore attention, if that was even possible.

As soon as she turned the nearest street corner, she bolted down the street, wanting to get away from there as fast as possible. She took several random turns before finally deciding she was far enough away.

_"Well at least I no longer have to worry about my reputation," _she thought to herself. _"I completely soiled that in no time... without Piggy's help." _Her eye twitched with anger at the thought of her 'name' but with her name came the topic of their discussion, mentally and literally. Naruto.

She hadn't yet noticed the blond until she heard his voice, even though her thoughts at the moment were focused on him. She felt her anger die down only to be replaced by something else. Some familiar feeling, but she couldn't quite place it... but that too was soon replaced by something else...

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"H-Hey, Hinata! I didn't mean here! Wake up!" Came his panicked voice.

Sakura looked up to find herself back in the housing district of Konoha.

For some reason, Sakura's heart fluttered at the site of him, yet she still did not know why. Possibly because she was just thinking of him, but that feeling died down quickly as it was replaced by another. Jealousy? She couldn't take it anymore. With the blond and indigo haired girl in the middle of the three-way street, she bolted, taking the street to her left which was also to the back of the blond.

Naruto scoopped up the Hyuuga girl and headed down the street in which Sakura had originally come from.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

For the second time in less than an hour, the pink haired medic found herself running aimlessly. She had only taken one turn and continued running for another few blocks until her mind had realized that the scenery around her had changed drastically. With mixed feelings, she took in the sight. Lush green trees and bushes were all around her as well as the grass beneath her feet. She finally realized where she was.

In the distance, she could see a few kids playing ninja as one threw his fake shuriken at the other and pretended to be hurt when the plastic toy hit his arm. A third boy in the group went through a few sloppy handsigns and threw a handful of grass at the 'hurt' kid while he yelled, "Razor Grass no Jutsu!" (Didn't feel much like translating this one and besides, adding 'no Jutsu' makes it sound cool, lol)

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the actions of the three. She soon turned away and began walking this time. A few minutes later brought the sounds of running water to her ears. As she took a turn around the trunk of a rather large tree, a bridge stretching over a small river came into view. Closing the distance, she took a seat underneath the bridge, and before she knew it, fell asleep to the sounds of the water crashing softly over the rocks.

A few peaceful hours of rest later brought Sakura eyes to leisurely drift open with a rested smile. With a yawn and a nice stretch, the pink haired girl looked around her. She looked at how the shadows were leaning and guessed it was only about three-o-clock. She missed lunched but she didn't feel like going home. She knew somewhere that was alot closer. Her smile faltered a moment but pushed the feeling away. She then got to her feet and began walking once more. When she came to the small clearing she had come across before, she was slightly surprised to see the ninja boys were still at it. Before moving on, she watched for a moment as the three boys competed against each other to see who could climb a tree the fastest.

_Slip_

Sakura gasped as she saw the last boy's footing slip on one of the tallest branches. Flailing his arms in a desperate attempt to grab a nearby branch, he did managed to grab onto the thin tree limb at the last second before... _Crackle crackle. Snap!_

Sakura let out another gasp as the boy began falling again, but this time, he had no branches to catch onto and only a few thin ones to slow his fall as he crashed through them. Many incoherent screams were heard as the kunoichi rushed to his aid. Seconds before hitting the hard root-popping floor, the pink haired kunoichi swooped in and caught the boy in mid-air. The boys above looked down on their friend and his savior, completely awestruck.

She then carefully layed the boy down at the base of the tree as his friends came climbing down as quickly and as carefully as possible.

A familiar green aura glowed around the medic's hands as she took care of the few cuts and scrapes caused by his fall.

"Wow Lady, you're like... a real ninja, huh?" The two boys chorused almost at once. The fallen boy was still speechless.

"Yes, I am," Sakura answered with a smile.

"Wow..."

"Now you guys have to be more careful. And you..." She said, now speaking directly at the sitting boy, "You need to stay put for a few minutes while your body recovers. Be more careful, got it?"

"H-Hai! Arigato, Medic-san!" Sakura simply smiled in return and continued back on her way. About five minutes later and she found herself standing at her destination.

"HEEEY!"

Sakura smiled unknowingly at the call. She turned to see the incomming blond who was needlessly running to her position.

"H-Hey Naruto... kun." She said when he finally reached earshot. Throwing away the previous scene she saw with him and Hinata out of her mind, she found herself suddenly nervous. "Where have you been?" She asked curiously.

"Oh...," his demeanor slightly shifted. Sakura could tell something was amiss.

"Me and Hinata were going to hang out..." Sakura's heart dropped the moment the words left his mouth.

"Oh... really?" Sakura enquired, trying not to sound too disappointed and not really wanting to hear his answer.

"Ya, but she like... collapsed or something. Fell unconcious, I guess. She felt _really_ warm so I took her to the hospital..." He finished, pointing to the hospital behind him with his thumb, though you couldn't actually see the building anymore.

_"She must have fainted again... She always does that around Naruto," _Sakura frowned.

"Man! Time flies. I missed lunch," Naruto said aloud but mostly to himself, gaining the attention of his pink haired friend. "I came here to get some ramen," he informed, practically drooling. "Looks like you had the same idea..."

Sakura had forgotten all about lunch, being distracted by the earlier incident and all. She was a bit surprised that she had forgotten about it since not only was it part of Ino's _plan,_ _"Ugh, Ino..."_ but it was practically right in front of her as well.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked nonchalantly, deciding to take this chance to set the plan in motion. Even if it was a trick, she didn't care at the moment. "I missed lunch too," she quickly added, hiding her subtle embarrassment when she noticed Naruto was looking at her strangely.

Naruto's eyes got wide and his grin got bigger.

"Sakura-chan, is this a da-"

BAM! Sakura hit him before he had the chance to say it. She did not want him to thinking that way... yet.

"Owww!" The blond whined.

"Can it! And don't get any ideas! I'm just hungry, ok?" She half-lied, getting overly defensive.

"Ok, ok. Just quit hitting me..." He pleaded.

Sakura sneaked a smile.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

_**Flashback**_

_"Guuuurrroooh," _came the odd sound from the blond's stomach.

"Hehe, sorry," he apologized with his usual grin that always came with that head-scratching habit. "When you passed out, I was worried about you, so I kinda... skipped lunch, heh..."

Hinata gasped inwardly and thought, _"H-He... skipped lunch... f-for me?" _Blushing deeply she continued aloud, "Y-You didn't have t-to do that f-for me..." She finished slowly, looking into his eyes, getting lost in the deep cerulean blue. The sound of his voice made her break eye contact, once again, blushing uncontrollably. She looked down at her lap.

"Well, uh... it's not like I was just gonna leave you here all alone without a word..." Naruto said, releasing a genuine smile at Hinata. A slight blushed creeped onto his face.

Without really thinking about it, Hinata started moving her right hand towards Naruto's, whose just so happened to be resting on Hinata's bedside, close to her hips. Clueless, Naruto had been sitting at Hinata's right bedside, by the window.

Her hand, moving ever so slowly, glided over Naruto's own. It hovered there for a moment before Hinata finally mustered up the courage to let it settle upon the top of his hand. She had not even realized Naruto was talking until the sudden silence told her that he stopped. She had been lost in thought, or in this case, lost in action. Naruto, on the other hand, stopped thinking altogether. He felt the sudden warmth flowing over his hand so he looked down to see where this wonderful feeling was comming from. He saw her hand resting upon his. Her smooth, gentle fingers caressing his own. He felt the urge the hold onto it, so he did. He turned his hand facing his palm upward. He then closed his fingers around hers, entwining them together.

His eyes followed up the path that her arm gave him. He found himself taking in her features that he never seemed to have really noticed before... Her smooth round chin. Her angelic smile. Her rosy cheeks. That cute little nose. Those somehow beautiful pupil-less eyes. And her long gorgeous indigo hair with her bangs hanging down neatly to the sides.

He was stuck on her eyes as his gaze finally met hers. They stared into each other's eyes with a warm affectionate feeling emanating from the two.

Naruto was now the one lost in Hinata's eyes. Though they were mostly colorless, to him, they were the prettiest things in the world. He was lost for words. He had completely forgotten what he was saying earlier and was now waiting for his mind to catch up to the current feelings he was having.

The feeling was mutual. Neither of them wanted it to end. As a matter of fact, Hinata actually wanted it to go further. To her, it was already pure bliss. It was a miracle she was still conscious. Or maybe she already fainted and it was all a dream. But to their unfortunate surprise, a knock at the door told her she was not dreaming and effectively ruined the moment.

Both Naruto and Hinata panicked and tore their hands away, looking in opposite directions. They tried to pretend nothing happened in front of the nurse who just walked in, but the look on both their scarlet faces said everything.

Seeing this, the nurse could tell she interrupted something possibly romantic.

"S-Sorry, but it's time to check up on the patient. It's a good thing you brought her in, she was actually starting to come down with something," she informed, still alittle flustered herself at walking in on the two..

Naruto was surprised that the nurse was so nice about it. He expected some sort of mean remark like he always got. This girl must not have known.

Hinata sighed deeply and Naruto released the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding.

A few silent minutes past until the nurse was done looking over something on a chart and move to a cupboard opposite the room. A moment later, Naruto tensed up seeing an object in the hands of the nurse. _A syringe._ He could fearlessly take a _chidori _to the chest, but there was something in him that just made him hate needles.

Seeing this reminded Hinata of this fact. She was sorta his stalker, you know. So this just so happened to be something about him she already knew.

"A-Ano..." The nurse paused and looked up at the questioning look on the Hyuuga's face. "Y-You can go get some l-lunch now... I-If you w-want..."

"Really? You sure?" He asked, wanting to make sure but also wanting to get outta there.

"Mm hmm," she answered with a nod.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" He said, slightly disappointed in leaving but still happy to go eat. He rose from his chair and stood next to Hinata. Naruto gave her a smile and started to walk towards the door.

"I'll see you arround?" He questioned in a cheery tune.

"Mm," she replied, giving him another nod. The blushing slightly.

With a wave and a smile, the happy blond continued out the door.

_**Flashback End**_

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Hinata kept going over the scene again and again during and even after the nurse left. She pinched herself to make sure she really wasn't dreaming... but even her dreams hadn't been _this_ good. She sighed happily and dropped her head back onto her pillow from her sitting position. She snuggled up to her pillow, pretending it was a certain orange clad ninja. She blushed and smiled harder than ever.

* * *

**A/N:** Lol, bad Shizune. I thought it was funny though. Some NaruHina fluffyness! What did you guys think? Always looking forward to your reviews and suggestions.

Until Next Time...


	4. The Mission

**Chapter Three**

**The Mission**

Shizune knew where she would most likely find Naruto, but finding his pink haired teammate would be another story. She wouldn't have it that easy as she knew she would have to try harder. She was already thinking of what her next stop would be in her little search.

"_Her house? Or maybe she'll be at the flower shop with Ino..."_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she reached Ichiraku's ramen shop in almost no time at all and just as she predicted, she could see the orange cargo pants of the ninja she was looking for sitting at a stool. Though the rest of his body was covered by the hanging paper flaps, his loud mouth flapping away along with his noisy noodle slurping belonged to no other.

With her hand out in front of her, she casually guided her way under the paper flaps. For some reason unbeknownst to herself, Shizune paused to look at the ninja. She couldn't help but think to herself that his new style of clothing... well, maybe not new but different... she could not help but think that it looked alot better than his previous choice of attire. She was momentarily overcome with an odd feeling. Unknowingly, a crack in her serious expression was caused by a small smile had made its way to the corners of her lips as she recalled a ghost of a man sitting in his stead. It was then, she realized, just how handsome the boy was becoming... just like his father.

Snapped out of her daze by the man at the counter, Teuchi, greeting her and asking for her order. Flustered, she shook her head to the aged man in the negative, desperate to fight the warmness in her cheeks. Shizune returned her attention to the task at hand.

Back to her old self again, she sounded off her orders, "Naruto! Your immediate attention is required. You have been requested for a mission. Report to Hokage-sama's office as soon as possible!"

"What?! Now? But I have only had three bowls!" Naruto whined, quite like his usual self.

"I dont have time to listen to your complaints. Do as you are told," she demanded. "I must find Sakura. She will be accompanying you," she added, distractedly. Just as she was turning to leave, she stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Yes?" The pink haired kunoichi inquired at the sound of her name while raising her eyebrows quizzically. By the look on her face, she had no idea what was going on. Apparently she had just been pretty deep into her own thoughts about something... or someone?

"Yes, I have to find... you?" Shizune blinked in confusion, clearly baffled as to why Sakura would be eating a late lunch with Naruto, of all people.

"Why are you... nevermind. Tsunade's office. Now," she demanded once more, though alittle nice this time. "You and Naruto are called for a mission. You will be briefed by Tsunade-sama before departure, as usual." And with that she was gone.

Five minutes and a still angry Naruto later, they were standing outside the Hokage's office door, but knowing Naruto, that door will be flying open soon enough, half way off its hinges.

Sakura, on the other hand, was still acting unlike her usual self. Normally she would have stopped Naruto from practically breaking the door down, but this time she had half the mind to do it herself. Although not getting the chance to voice her dissatisfaction before hand, she was slightly upset by her thoughts on a certain blond ninja being interrupted earlier as well as their late lunch.

She couldn't help but wonder how the night would have ended had they been given the chance. At the thought, or fantasy, of this, she felt a slight tingle run through her body for the umpteenth time that day.

The ANBU guard at the door intended to warn the Hokage of _his_ arrival before he had given permission for the two to enter. Unfortunately, he did not get the chance as the blond loudmouth had already invited himself inside.

Along with the sound of crashing doors, the boisterous blond thundered off with equal measure, "BAA-CHAN! You owe me some ramen! I wasn't done-"

Clearly, the blond wasn't paying attention and by now, you think he would learn, but he obviously has not since he painfully met face to... face with a stapler. Tsunade had been expecting his reaction to some degree and hoping to avoid getting her usual headache from the blond, she decided to give him one instead as she hurled the closest object she could reach at his face, knocking him clean on his ass.

Sakura stood back and watched the incident somewhat amusedly from the hallway. She sighed outwardly to herself and wondered how she could ever have any feelings for the dimwitted blond.

"Naruto... Sakura... " Judging by her serious tone of voice and how she had her elbows propped on her desk with her hands folded neatly back together before her, the Hokage was in no mood for games.

Sakura walked into the office and stood at attention while Naruto's wobbly figure was just trying to focus on standing.

In place of the usual sleeping blonde, they were instead met with a stone faced woman glaring them down from behind her desk.

"Baa-chan..." He whined, rubbing his face.

"Don't call me that!" She hissed, looking around for another expendable object to throw at him once more.

Sakura stiffened just as another object came flying past her towards where Naruto had just gotten to his feet. This time ready for it, Naruto quickly ducked but unfortunately, not fast enough because the heavy-looking paperweight still managed to bounce off the top of his head.

Sakura couldn't help but wince at not only seeing, but hearing it hit him and land with a dull _thud _behind him.

In a clearly audible yelp of pain, Naruto rubbed his hand profusely over the contact area on his head.

"What is the nature of our mission..." Sakura started, wanting to get to the point and protect Naruto at the same time, "and where is Kakashi-sensei and Sai?" She asked, realizing he should have been there by now, even if he was famous for being late.

Naruto seemed to show some curiosity at this question as well as he began to look from his teammate to his Hokage to the empty space next to him, all the while, still rubbing his head.

"First off," she began, "Kakashi is on another mission right now as well as the rest of the _qualified_ shinobi. So he will not be joining you just yet. But he will be sent after you two just in case backup is needed, which I doubt. Sai is off on a mission from Danzou," she took a moment of silence for herself, probably trying to get the detestable image of the said man out of her head.

"Secondly. As for your mission itself, it will be classified as a C rank mission, possibly a low B rank if you have to become directly involved, which you most likely will. That is why Kakashi will be right behind you."

"Involved with what?" Asked the pink haired medic, not skipping a beat.

"You will hunt down a ninja spy. This ninja was spot in Amegakure but not captured. We believe he may have obtained useful information that may be even more useful to us. Be warned, this ninja is, for a lack of a better word, talented. From my report, this ninja uses a lightning base jutsu to stun his enemies before escaping. He took down several Ame nins with very little effort but did not bother to kill any of them. Do not expect the same treatment," pausing a moment to let the information sink in, she continued.

"The target was last seen heading toward the Lightning Country so it might be safe to assume that this is a Kumo nin we are dealing with. The quickest way there, as you know, is to cut through the Fire Nation so try to cut him off before this person reaches the border. If the target does reach the border before you, persue until you reach Kumo territory before turning back as you can't go any further without backup... This should not take more than a week. Any questions?"

"Yes. If this guy is so 'talented', shouldn't this be a B or A class mission? In that case, we should have a third person with us just in case. And how do we know he is not working alone?"

"Good questions, Sakura. Just as I expect from you. To answer your questions in order, I have the utmost confidence in your abilities, and under other circumstances..." Tsunade eyed Naruto with this statement, "...you would be right. But just in case the situation does esculate, as I said before, Kakashi will be right behind you. As for your last question, he was seen working alone but we do not know if he has met up with anyone... so catch him before he does." She stated simply, her expression finally softening.

"If this person does meet up with anyone, wait for Kakashi and stay hidden."

Although the comment "under other circumstances" did not get by her, she decided to save that question for later. She had a pretty good idea what it was about anyways.

"One more thing... A person doesn't usually get away without injury when fighting four or more ninja by yourself. Blood was found away from the scene in the direction the intruder went. Our target may be injured so you two may have some extra time if he stops to recuperate," the Hokage finished.

"...Or die," Naruto added sarcastically with a snicker.

"Let's hope not," Sakura disagreed, "We need him alive... for a while at least."

"You are to leave as soon as you are ready for departure," Tsunade added, ignoring the blond's comment.

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He easily managed to stop the bleeding. Being a minor wound, it wasn't difficult. It could have been worse, though with clenched fists, he cursed himself for actually getting hurt in battle. He knew if he had taken the extra precautions, it wouldn't have happened but he didn't always want to rely on _that_.

One of the defeated Ame nin managed to summon the strength to throw one last kunai before losing his last ounce of consiousness.

_**Flashback**_

He was almost surounded with three ninja in his front line of vision and the one behind him that he had just taken care of.

_Shink, whooosh. _

It was the unmistakable sound of an expertly thrown kunai. He was almost surprised that it was coming from behind him because he was sure he dealt with that guy already. With only enough time to turn his head to look back at the oncomming attack. He shifted his weight to his right leg and managed to lean to the right, just enough to where the kunai would only graze his shoulder instead of getting hit in the back, peircing his heart from behind. He hoped that if he could force himself to fall to the ground fast enough, he could avoid the attack completely. _Nope_.

If he had not taken the time to look at the attack, he would have had the time to do a kawarimi jutsu.

He clenched his teeth as the kunai ripped through his flesh sending the searing pain through his body . It went deeper than he expected but still only hit his shoulder none-the-less.

Still letting himself fall to the ground to avoid more kunai and shuriken thrown from his other opponents, he rebounded on his right hand with a cart wheel and landed on his feet once again. Without skipping a beat, he jumped an easy twenty-five feet or so with the help of his chakra.

With the use of the Kage Kunai no Jutsu, a total of seven kunai were thrown, piercing the ground creating a V-like pattern with two horizontal rows of three and one lone kunai at the base. A trained eye could see the ninja style wire glinting off the moonlight, connecting all the kunai together. The strategically thrown kunai created enough space between them to entrap the three remaining enemy ninja within the created shape outlined in the wire with one last wire leading to the right hand of the unknown airborn ninja.

"Raiton: Dendo Nami no Jutsu!" (Lightning Style: Electric Wave Technique)

A wave of electricty surged from the right hand of the mysterious ninja leading to the base of the V shape. From there, it flowed forth through the wire connected by kunai, and spread throughout the empty space, striking the Ame ninja within the V formation, trapping everyone inside at the mercy of the technique's owner. As their bodies went numb and useless, one ninja in the back managed to jump before being struck by the wave of electricity only to be caught by a lashing bolt of the powerful force that is normally only commanded by mother nature.

The bolt shot up from the large body of the flowing current and struck its victim, immobilizing the unlucky ninja until his limp form rejoined his grounded comrads who were lucky enough to give into unconsciousness. The newly captured ninja gave in to defeat soon after.

The mysterious defending ninja was already in descent from his high jump earlier. He released the jutsu before landing in it himself, not that it needed to be active any longer, because it didn't.

The ninja smirked at his easy success but decided to leave before any more showed up to slow him down.

_**Flashback end**_

He couldn't stay long. With the gash on his left shoulder, he was sure to have left a trail behind. He thought it best to patch up his wound before proceeding as to not further give himself away. Besides, he knew the wound would impede him if another battle ensued. Either way, he was sure his victory would be absolute.

Now finished with his doctoring, he continued into the Fire Country to look for a safe place to stop for the night. He had to be quick... the others were waiting for him. He had told them it would be best for them to wait as to not raise any unneccessary attention.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

After packing everything he thought neccessary for the mission, including a couple scrolls that Chouji had given him as a welcome home present, which he seemed very reluctant to hand over, Naruto grabbed his weapons pouch and sorted through it. Seeing as his tools were in tip-top shape, he placed them all back in his pouch and strapped them to the side of his right thigh. He took a second pouch and strapped it to the back of his waist, on the left side. Though he figured the contents would be no use to him, he thought that maybe Sakura might need them if they got into any trouble. He made a mental note to have TenTen teach him how to do his own basic sealing when they got back.

Making a quick sweep of his room, he made sure he was not forgetting anything. As his eyes rested on his bed, he couldn't help but recall the day's earlier events and blushed as he wondered what could have happened between him and the shy Hyuuga heiress had they not been interrupted.

Smiling softly, only coming out of his daze half way, Naruto turned to walk out of his apartment door only to walk into the wooden impediment itself.

"Ow... damn Pervy Sage..." He cursed the legendary pervert... er, Sannin, for rubbing off on him and not only leaving Naruto with such lude thoughts in his head but also for distracting him even at this moment, causing him to forget to open his door before trying to walk through it.

This time, he opened the door and _then_ walked out.

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She wasn't sure what to do. After the earlier incident, she wasn't sure if she could handle seeing him again, but before she knew it, her feet had already carried her to his place of residence. She had never been able to bring herself this close to his home before.

She raised her hand to the door, making a fist to knock on it. Suddenly her heart started racing. She brought her hand back down to place over her pounding chest, as if trying to calm herself. She was becoming even more nervous than before and her breathing was starting to speed up as well. She wasn't sure if she could actually bring herself to knock and silently prayed that she wouldn't let herself leave before completing her task.

Suddenly a new wave of confidence overtook her as she was now determined to face her fears. She would not let herself turn back now after coming so close. She brought her hand back up to the door and was merely centimeters away before being surprised by a hard thudding sound against the wood, causing her to pull away once more with an 'Eep'. She could hear some short mumbling on the other side and a moment later, the door opened up with Naruto rubbing his nose and/or forehead.

"Eh? Hinata?" He looked at her, surprised to see her at his apartment.

"A-Ano..." She began, just realizing that she had never even thought of what she was going to say. To her relief, and soon disappointment, her crush spoke first.

"Sorry, Hinata. I have a mission to take care of," He bluntly informed.

"Oh..." She replied sadly. She felt a sudden pang in her heart and fought to keep the quiver from her voice.

"Not to worry. I'll be back soon and then we can get a bite to eat," he assured cheerily.

"H-Hai," she replied, perhaps in a more cheery tone than Naruto had spoken just a second ago.

Smiling, Naruto said his goodbyes and was about to leave before adding, "Since you came all this way, you can let yourself in my apartment for refreshments..." He was glad he cleaned up before leaving but then remembered something.

"Oh, wait... I never went shopping so I don't have anything other than water at the moment. Sorry."

"Mm. It-It's okay," she replied with spirits slightly lifted at his generous offering.

Hinata watched him leave with dreamy eyes and once he was out of sight, she fell back against the wall and slid down to her knees unable to stand the pressure any longer. At least she hadn't fainted this time. With a lighthearted sigh, she closed her eyes and wished for the time to go by faster so she could see him again..

Hinata let out a gasp while her eyes shot back open just as someone pulled her to her feet and enveloped her in a hug. Even though she was sure she had closed her eyes for only a moment, she must have fallen asleep, because her Naruto-kun had come back. He was hugging her, and before she knew it, she was hugging him back.

"This must be a dream..." She thought out loud.

"Not this time," came his simple reply.

Hinata became wide-eyed and pulled back in surprise, realizing it really was not a dream. She stared into his deep saphire eyes, lost for words. With the pounding once again in her chest, she thought her blond crush might actually hear it as if felt so loud in her ears.

"Thank you, Hinata-_chan_... for being there for me. I never realized it before and I don't know why it is just barely coming to me now, but you've always believed in me... Thank you." He ended his sentence with a kiss to her forehead and whispered another farewell before he was gone once again.

Her heart fluttered and even skipped a few beats.

As her mind went racing with what had just happened, her heart beat with it at equal speeds. She was completely speechless. She wondered if what just happened, really _did _happen. She leaned against the wall behind her and slid down it into a sitting position with her knees at her chin.

She wasn't waking up... It was real.  


* * *

**A/N: **I hope that turned out better than the previous chapters. I made more of an effort to help the readers become better in tune with the characters' feelings, as was suggested of me. I know the fight scene wasn't much but I would like to make the future ones better depending on your reviews. Hoped you like the NaruHina fluff even if it has been over used in so many other stories.

Until Next Time...


	5. Possibilites

**Chapter Four**

**Possibilities**

He was late. He should have been at the main gate with his teammate almost ten minutes ago. Even with the large archway now coming into view, Naruto still kept his pace. He could now see his pink haired friend and teammate waiting for him. He slightly cringed at the thought of what Sakura would do to him for being late. He could barely see the look on her face. She seemed annoyed... or something. With her staring lazily at practically nothing, she must be spacing out.

Now close enough to talk to her, he said hurriedly, "Sorry for being late Sakura-chan! I'm ready, lets go." Without even stopping, he past her up, but stopped few yards away when she did not follow. He returned to her side and shook her lightly out of her daze.

"Huh?" She said, looking at the source of the touch, "Naruto!"

Expecting she must be angry at him for his tardiness, he quickly pulled his hand back and joined it up in front of his face with his other hand. In an attempt to cover his soon to be bruised face from her impending wrath that was sure to come, he succeeded more in making himself look like a cowering dog in front of his angry master. After a moment, when her wrath did not follow through like he had expected, he bravely decided to peak out from behind his hands.

"Sakura-chan?" He said questioningly, raising an eyebrow. The look on her face was one which he did not fully recognize. It wasn't anger... It seemed more like... worry... or sorrow even. He wasn't sure.

With a small and not completely forced smile, she said, "Ok, lets go."

"Uh..." He said at first, surprised to see this new demeanor. "Yeah!" He added, using one of his rare genuine smiles. He agreed.

"We only have a few hours before nightfall," she informed, taking a brief look at the darkening horizon, "So lets make the most of it."

Moment later, they were on there way at ninja speed, jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

The first few miles consisted of nothing but the lush green surroundings of the forest and an awkward silence. Naruto wasn't sure why, but he wanted to end the awkwardness that he wasn't sure why was there in the first place.

To Sakura's relief, Naruto broke the silence. She was just thinking of what to say to do just that.

"Sakura-chan?" He said plainly.

"Yeah, Naruto-_kun_?" She said the suffix as quietly and quickly as possible as not to arouse suspicion but doing so in that manor might have done just that. Even if she had used the suffix with him before, to her, its concept was starting to take on a whole new meaning

"Why..." He stopped himself, unsure if he should actually ask the question on his mind. He figured if he wanted some answers to his own feelings, maybe her answer would help him.

"Why did you... like Sasuke?" He managed to ask, almost apprehensive of how she would react. He was sure she would just blow him off, so it didn't much matter.

Flustered at the sudden personal question, she pondered it for a moment. The old Sakura would have just blown off the question and told Naruto to 'can it'.

"Well normally, I would tell you that he was 'cool' and 'handsome' and 'charming' and stuff like that, which is kinda funny cuz' his personality was far from charming. Now that I think about it... I don't know," she finally admitted. By the look on her face, she started to really think about it, and after a minute, she continued her speech, "Maybe because everyone else did. I guess I just wanted to win him over... and not lose to that _pig_," she finished, practically hissing the last word.

"Oh," he replied dully, "Hmm..." Her answer didn't really help him... but in a way, it did.

"Why do you ask?" The pink haired kunoichi enquired, only alittle flushed at her own honesty to his question.

Subconsciously, they both landed on a nearby branch before jumping for the next one, like they did on many occasions.

"...No reason," he lied horribly.

Sakura could tell something was on his mind and she was not about to let it go.

"What about you?" She asked, straight to the point.

Naruto was surprised at her forwardness, and he showed it, causing Sakura to blush slightly and look away, even though he had just asked the same question. He just looked at her, wide-eyed for a moment.

He suddenly found himself staring, and without realizing it, he was taking in her features like he had done with another girl earlier that day. He watched how her emerald green eyes sparkled in the low sunlight as they stared straight ahead. Her shiny rose colored hair flowing freely in the wind, bouncing in rythm with her jumps. Seeing her perfect complexion brought him to notice the blush on her cheeks. It complemented her hair very nicely. At their current speed, the blush must be from the wind or... She was smiling? He was surprised he had not noticed it sooner. It was a warm, enticing smile. Naruto found himself drawn to it but then she looked at him again, breaking the spell.

"Well...? I answered yours," she cooed teasingly in a very un-Sakura-like fashion.

"Huh?" He replied dumbly, still slightly distracted by her features.

"Why... do you like me?" She asked in her shy mood once more.

"Oh..." Replied a now slightly embarrassed Naruto, "Well you are one of the prettiest and smartest girls I know," he began.

Sakura couldn't help but blush alittle deeper and smile harder at the compliment but she certainly did not miss the double meaning... those two words, '_one of'_. She replayed the words in her head.

_"Who was the other __one__? Could it be..._" She thought. She realized she was getting worried over something that could mean nothing... or something. Maybe she was getting jealous. _"Am I actually competing for Naruto?" _She wondered, suprising herself by the simple question which, just by asking it, only revealed to her that she just might have real feelings for the blond. This only caused her to blush once again.

She gave a sigh of relief as she took a quick glance at Naruto. He had finally returned his gaze forward, so of course, he had missed it. These thoughts hit her hard and only pulled her in further. They took but a second to enter her mind, but the effects were certainly lasting longer.

"And that smile... wow," he added slyly.

Sakura could hardly contain herself. It was wierd. She wasn't acting as her usual self and anyone _else_ would have noticed it. For once, she was thankful it was Naruto.

"Th-Thank you," Sakura replied sheepishly.

Naruto only smiled but not to her words. Her stutter reminded him of somoene else. For some reason he felt guilty for confiding to Sakura, but he could not help but think that something was different about her. She was being nicer to him? His thoughts kept going from one girl to the other. He found himself conflicted.

"Wow, it's already dark," Sakura observed. "Should we rest?"

"Sure, for a short while, at least," He answered, not really tired. "At our current speed, we still have a few days travel to reach the border," he informed her. Though she was well aware of this information, she agreed with a nod.

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Hinata woke up to the moonlight shinning down on her from the window. Something felt off, so she sat up to take a look at her surroundings. She gasped as the realization dawned on her.

"I-I'm still in Naruto-kun's bedroom!" She exclaimed to herself remembering his unaccompanied invitation into his home. With another gasp, she added slowly, "I even slept in his bed..." She blushed very hard at the concept. Taking another look around and deducting that Naruto had yet to return from his mission, she frowned and her heart slowly returned to its normal pace.

Noticing the alarm clock next to his Team Seven picture, she let out yet another gasp. "I'm late!" Hinata practically threw herself off the bed bolted out the door, making sure to close it behind her as she left. She rushed back to the Hyuuga Manor as quickly as possible.

"Byakugan!" She said as quietly as possible, activating her dojutsu. Using her bloodline ability to look through the walls of her own manor, she checked to see if anyone was still awake, especially her father. Surprisingly, he had not even bothered to stay up to bust her in her midnight escapade like he usually would. Before proceeding, she took one last look around. She then expertly sneeked past the gaurds, knowing the secrets of the compound, it wasn't hard for a Hyuuga.

Finally reaching the front steps, she quietly slid open the shoji door leading into her home and stepped inside. After closing the door behind her, she slid off her shoes and pushed them into the closet before sneaking up to her room.

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_**Six Hours Later**_

_"...it's the manner in which they did not die that you should concern yourself with."_

Suddenly remembering what the ANBU had told her earlier gave her an uneasy feeling. She thought it best to take another look into the report she had been given. She silently chastised herself for not looking into it sooner.

"What kind of ninja would let his enemies live if his cover was blown?" She asked herself rhetorically as she fianally turned her gaze upon the book that was now in her hand and opened it. She flipped through a couple pages before stopping at one that caught her eye. Her eyes darted back and forth before stopping at the name of a potential suspect. Her eyes briefly widened as she stared at the name.

She didn't even bother to close the report as she dropped it on her desk and stood up in her rage.

"He could be WHO?!" Screamed an enraged Hokage. "This is NOT good! They will need immediate backup!" She ranted, now pacing. Through all her yelling, she had not heard her assistant come running through the office door. "SHIZUNI-" She began again.

"I'm already here, Tsunade-sama!" She interrupted.

"Get Kakashi, _immediately_," she ordered, stressing the last word.

"But Tsunade-sama, Kakashi has only been back for a few hours. He needs some rest," Shizune informed the Hokage, who, of course, was well aware of this.

"He is a shinobi! This is his job!" She retorted, making her point.

"Understood," replied a now frightened Shizune.

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It was now approaching the afternoon and both Naruto and Sakura were tired from sleepless travel since their break almost twelve hours ago.

"It is best if we stop here for now," Sakura suggested, slightly out of breath.

Naruto happily agreed, "Good! I'm starving!" He complained. So far, they had skipped breakfast and it was now almost lunchtime.

Though she tried to keep it to herself, the grumbling in Sakura's stomach made no effort to conceal the fact that, she too, was getting pretty hungry.

"I'll get us something to eat," she stated as she started going through her back pack.

To Naruto's dismay, Sakura pulled out two sandwhiches and two energy bars made especially for ninja. She handed one of each to Naruto who just looked at the two items as if Sakura had just handed him tree bark and told him to 'eat it'.

After his most reluctant meal, Naruto saw that Sakura had already finished and was silently watching him.

Sakura, seeing as Naruto had noticed her staring, tried to look away innocently but cursed herself as she could feel her cheeks heating up.

Naruto just chuckled. Sakura heard him which only made her blush even harder.

"Shut up," she said, though with no real command in her voice. She found that his simple chuckle was actually quite... comforting.

A chilling wind decided to choose that moment to blow over them, causing Sakura to subconsiously rub her arms in an attempt to rid herself of the cold goosebumbs.

For once not completely oblivious to his surroundings, he saw that Sakura was shivering. She was only wearing her usual red kunoichi dress which was obviously not very protective against the cold nights, especially since it was getting late in the year and it was gradually getting colder.

Sakura was surprised to feel a sudden warmth envelope her body. She look down at herself and noticed that Naruto had wrapped his orange and black jacket around her. Looking next to her, Naruto had just sat down at her side.

"Ah... Ar-Arigato," she managed to get out. She was smiling and blushing once again at his kind gesture. Hidden underneath the jacket, she placed a hand to her heart to quell the rapid pounding in her chest.

Being awake for almost thirty hours straight was starting to take its toll on her as she started to get very sleepy. She shyly let her head rest on Naruto's shoulder and surprisingly fell asleep soon after.

Getting sleepy himself, Naruto went through a few sets of handsigns and summoned three clones. Two of which were kage bunshin and the third of which was just an ordinary bunshin. This way, if they were in danger of an attack, two clones could fight while the third one, being impervious to attack but also unable to do physical damage in a fight, could warn the two sleeping ninja if they were not already aroused by the possible commotion.

Impressed by his own intelligence, Naruto smiled. He then turned his attention to the sleeping girl next to him. As gently as possible, Naruto layed Sakura down, supporting her head, careful as to not wake her. He then joined her at her side in much needed sleep.

Sakura stirred as images came to her in her sleep...

_**Sakura's dream**_

It was a peaceful summer's day. The sun was shinning through the trees at the horizon, still bathing her in warmth but still keeping cool under a tree. Sakura stared off into the short distance as two figures were practicing taijutsu in a large grassy field. The sight automatically brought a smile to her face yet she didn't know why.

She could not make out the features of the taller man as the sun was behind him, causing a shadow on his features. The boy, however, stood in his shadow. She could just barely make out his face. He was blond and young. Somewhere around the age of eight. He bore no hitai-ate' so he had yet to pass the ninja academy, if he had even entered it yet.

_"Naruto?" _Sakura thought to herself before pondering some more, "_...when he was a kid, maybe?"_

She continued her gaze, but this time on the taller man. It was only getting darker, so therefore, harder to see his appearance. She only seemed to be able to make out everything neck down. He wore a green ninja flak jacket under an orange cloak with black flames at the bottom hem of the sleeves and tail. He wore matching orange cargo pants and black ninja grade sandels. Just about everything he wore matched in one way or another and he was certainly well built. Noticing this, she blushed lightly. But she was also confused as to why she was staring at the Fourth when he died long ago...

"Yahoo!" Came the faint gleeful cry as the boy started running, making his way towards Sakura.

_"They must be done sparring, or just taking a break,"_ She thought.

After making his 'yays' and 'woo hoos', the blond boy stopped in front of Sakura beaming up at her with that familiar, bright, happy smile and those... emerald... green eyes. "Daddy says he's gonna teach me a cool new jutsu tomarrow!" He revealed. With a slight change in his tone he continued, "Hey mommy, how is sis doing?" He asked her caringly, yet still clearly excited about his previous news.

_"Sis...? As in sister?"_ She thought to herself, dumbfounded. _"Wait... mommy?" _She thought again. As everything started sinking in, her shock was only rising as her 'Naruto moment' passed. The boy was no longer looking at her, but her lap instead. Sakura followed the gaze of his familiar green eyes only to find the most shocking thing of all. She almost jumped to her feet in disbelief, but it was a good thing she hadn't.

There was a little pink haired girl just comming peacefully out of her nap. She looked to be about one year old. Her cute little eye's were slowly being revealed as her small eyelids slowly opened up. She was the spitting image of herself at that age minus the bright saphire blue eyes.

Her intial shock was finally subsiding as she started to accept this new life. That was until she heard _his_ voice. Seeing his orange pant leggings and black sandels, accompanied by the black flames of his cloak, come to a stop before her, next to her apparent son, made her freeze.

"So how is my wife doing today?" Came the familiar voice.

Her eyes darted up to see the face of the voice's owner. Now standing up close, without the sunlight behind him but the leaves of the tree instead, she could now see his well defined face perfectly...

* * *

**A/N:** For those of you who did notice, you should know it really does not take two to three days to reach the border. For some, it can easily be done in one day, but to help the story progress, I made it longer. So please do not lecture me on this.

Anyways... What do you guys think? Sakura's personality is definately taking a new turn, huh? And that dream? Foreshadowing maybe? Let me know what's going on in those heads of yours, mm k? Ok.

Oh, I decided that Naruto knows the normal bunshin, since he is supposed to be Jounin level now, it would only make since so I will keep it that way in my stories unless the manga says otherwise.

Until Next Time...


	6. Rising Hope

**Chapter Five**

**Rising Hope**

**A/N: **I woulda had this chapter out sooner today (not an excuse!!) but I was kinda busy attending my parents' wedding! w00t!! They finally got hitched, lol. We had champaigne and my brother said something about it being a girly drink and didn't want any at first but then decided to have some, saying something about making an exception for his girlish figure (emo) and then the Reverend _actually _said something along the lines of "That's okay. He's still waiting for 'them' to drop." OMG, lol. I thought that was hilarious comming from him. So yeah... Just thought I'd share... Hope I didn't bore you.

On to the chapter!!

* * *

_"Ok, fine. I'll tell you alittle..."_

_"It's about time, Baa-chan," the blond blurted out sarcastically. _

_"Nevermind..."_

_"Oh, c'mon! I was kidding!" The blond begged vigorously before thinking for a short moment, "I'll stop calling you 'baa-chan'..."_

_"A bribe? Ok, I'll take it." The woman said, alittle too eagerly. "What do you want to know?"_

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Sakura's eyes snapped open but she did not move. She thought she heard someone gasp but she still was not sure if her dream had actaully ended because not only was there was still very little daylight left, just like in her dream, but the apparent 'man of her dreams' was still in front of her as well, only this time he was sleeping. She figured the sound he heard was just him breathing.

In his sleep, an unrestrained shiver swept through his body with the creasing and uncreasing of his brow as if in a dream himself. She couldn't help but smile noticing how even the Great Uzumaki Naruto couldn't hide his emotions while sleeping.

A warmess flowed through her and she realized she was still wearing his jacket. Judging by the shiver she had just witnessed, she figured her teammate must be cold, even if he wouldn't admit it himself.

Not really paying any attention to what she was doing, she discretely snuggled closer to the sleeping blond in front of her as she went over the dream in her head. Sakura had never blushed so hard in her life.

She found the sound of his breathing rather soothing and was almost lulled back to sleep by a mixture it and the rhythm of her peaceful heartbeat.

_Rustle rustle, clink clink._

Panic striken, Sakura bolted out of her sitting position, kunai in hand, only to find that the ones making the noise were two, no... three other Narutos.

"What the... hmmm?" Mumbled a groggy Naruto, awakened by Sakura's sudden movements.

Still dumbstuck, Sakura ignored her blond friend for a moment. She observed what the other Narutos were doing. Two of them were actually preparing a meal. Dinner judging by the setting sun. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it smelled pretty good... surprising enough. The other Naruto was patrolling around their area., keeping watch. There was something different about the third clone. Normally she would be able to tell the difference right away, but Naruto's clones were always perfect.

Conveniently, a cool breeze drifted through their campsite, pulling along several leaves but not many. It was then that she noticed it. A leaf. Instead of its path being blocked by the clone, it merely drifted right through it. To top it off, while the blond hair of the other two Narutos slightly shifted in the gentle wind, the patrolling blond was completely unaffected.

"Why...?" She started to ask, but then it finally registered in her brain in her drousy state. "Two for fighting or defending and one to warn us?" She said inquisitively, though already knowing the answer. She looked back at Naruto, "That's really... smart." Sakura admitted, but her praise fell on deaf ears. The blond had already fallen back to sleep. Unintentionally, the once bold and somewhat arrogant medic smiled sweetly at him. It was definately something she would not have done had he been awake, or at least not something she would have been aware of. Still... this kunoichi had an apologetic look in her eyes. She knew she had to wake him.

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"Wh-What should I do?" The indigo haired girl asked herself thoughtfully. "Did we have a 'moment'? Does he like me? Does he know I like him? But what if he and Sakura..." Hinata paused her rambling to shake her head frantically in a desperate attempt to remove that last thought from her mind. She plopped herself down onto her bed as her thoughts scrambled her brain. She had to take a moment to force herself to calm down. Her pacing had made her slightly tired and her sister just entered the room momentarily to inform her that her "squawking" was very annoying; but that did not stop her from continuing her rant inside the confines of her own mind.

_"What's going to happen?" _She thought worriedly, very anxious about Naruto's return. In her state of anxiety, she could no longer stay still to fantasize about the return of her long time crush so she hopped back out of bed and was soon walking out of her room, down the hall, and down the stairs. She had no idea where she was going but she needed a nice long walk to cool off and calm her mind.

"Where are you headed off to at this hour?" Sounded the harsh voice of her father.

Resentful anger was suddenly blistering. Turning around, her gaze was immediately brought to the cold, condescending glare of the clan head, Hyuuga Hiashi, which immediately killed her hostile mood with surprising force.

"Ano..." She began as if the earlier emotion had never exisited. Standing up straight, she looked him dead in the eyes. Though only one word, it was without stutter and Hiashi knew very well that the first word she usually spoke was _with_ stutter. This simple change in her demeanor surprised him as he slightly lowered his demanding stance and his condescending glare softened to that of a possibly confused furrow of his brow.

"I am going to the training grounds. I have nothing better to do at the moment," she informed in a surprisingly confident attitude, with no stutter! Though it was a lie as it came out of her mouth, seconds after saying it, she thought it was a good idea.

"Very well," he simply stated, and he turned away and proceeded to walk back to his study. As he turned, a very small hint of a smile could be scene as a corner of his lips twitched upward before the brief view was gone. Hinata, though she wisely kept it to herself, saw this brief slip in his poise. She hoped she had done something right.

With her mind switching between what just happened with her father and with what had happened earlier with Naruto, she could not help but decide that today was a good day.

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Sigh.

"It looks like someone _has_ found my trail afterall. Well it was getting boring anyways," the unknown ninja said to himself. "Those Ame nin were hardly a warm up..." He stopped to think inwardly a moment, _"I still cant believe I let that guy hit me," _he thought in furious disappointment, raising his right hand to his patched up shoulder. "Though the wound wasn't nearly as bad as I initially thought it was. It's already closing up... but I can't let _those_ guys know I got hurt..."

"I should get moving before those coming after me catch up to me before I'm prepared," he advised himself. "But those chakra signatures... they are still a bit far away but they seem familiar... and strong. I'll find out for sure sooner or later."

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_"What did she look like?"_

_"Your mother? She was very beautiful. She had very long ruby red hair... She was about your height. I don't know what else I can tell you about her appearance. Your looks are more from your father's side... but you definately have her personality."_

_"And what was he like?"_

_"Very couragious, up until the very end. His selflessness saved many lives. He always put others before himself. He was a great leader."_

_"And how did my mom die?"_

_She began her answer with a quiver and a sniff, like she was close to crying._

_"She..."_

_Naruto... Naruto. Wake up, Naruto._

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"I can sense someone up ahead but they are still a few miles out. They are on the move so we have to hurry, it will still take alittle less than half a day to catch up to him at his current speed," she informed casually as if it were an everyday occurance.

That meant Naruto had to rush through his dinner, which he was not pleased with, especially since he had just woken up. And to top it off, he was still having wierd dreams... but they seemed to be following some sort of order... Once again shrugging it off, he ate his food. One of his clones had made use of one of the scrolls Chouji had given him. It was a food sealing scroll and it came in handy on missions like this. This scroll had not only sealed away various freshly cooked meats, but also sealed their freshness and smell as if it had just been prepared right in front of you.

Hearing odd sounds coming from behind her, Sakura turned around to see a rather pale looking blond. Recognizing his situation, Sakura instinctively rushed to Naruto's side and with a strong swift downward motion, she slapped the back of the choking ninja _hard_. Underestimating her own strength, she accidently knocked Naruto off his feet and onto his face, but alive none-the-less.

Coughing mostly from the dirt he just inhaled rather than the piece of meat that was just forced out of his throat, the thanked his savior in between gasps for air.

"No problem," she replied, blushing just slightly, realizing she probably just saved his life from a piece of meat.

_"Worthless Fox,"_ he growled inwardly, _"...can save me from a mortal wound but can't seem stop me from choking on a damn piece of meat."_

_**"..."**_

"You okay?" The pink haired medic asked, slightly worried. "I'm more used to healing injuries, not the heimlich maneuver," she added sarcasticly, even though it wasn't technically the said maneuver.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks again," he replied, putting on his usual facade.

"Good, _baka_," Sakura said so coldly that Naruto was surprised at her sudden relapse in personality. She had tried alittle too hard to hide her true emotions.

Scarfing down his food, losing his food, and preparing for departure at the same time gave him very little time to savor his meal. Choking on it did not help matters any either. If Chouji had seen that, he probably would have yelled something to the point of 'It's still good! Five second rule!'. In any case, it was certainly more satisfying than those sandwhiches earlier and Sakura seemed to agree.

They were now ready to go and Naruto obviously no longer needed his clones. Thoughtlessly, Naruto dispersed his clones and watched them disappear in a puff of smoke. Picking up his bag, Naruto started walking towards Sakura.

"You ready to-" Naruto stopped in mid-sentence and in mid-step as he focused on hazy memories from one of the clones making its way into his mind.

_**Clone Memory**_

"Nnn... nn... nnn," the blond kage bunshin listened to the noises comming from below him, close by. Turning his attention back to his surroundings, the light was disappearing over the horizon. Crickets begun chirping and the leaves rustled in the gentle wind. Hearing the noise again, Naruto decided to hop down off his branch to investigate.

Now walking towards the two sleeping Konoha shinobi, Naruto stopped as a twig snapped and dry leaves crunched under his step. Making sure he did not disturb the sleeping duo, he continued. Stopping at the feet of 'himself' and his sleeping comrad, he listened intently while inspecting the area.

"... nnn..." Came the sound again. It was from Sakura.

Leaning forward to get a closer look, he focused on Sakura's face. It was getting darker by the second but for now, he could still see her well enough. Her bangs were hanging down in her face and their wasn't much of a comparison between her hair and her cheeks. She was blushing... and smiling too. It looked like she was dreaming, and happily at that.

_"But what about?"_ He wondered. No sooner had the thought entered his mind was it answered.

"... nnn... Nar... uto?" She mumbled, still smiling.

Wide-eyed and silently gasping, Naruto was stunned but not for long as Sakura's eyes had shot open. She must have heard him somehow. Either way, he was sure as hell not to be caught. As fast as his feet could possibly carry him, he moved to the center of their campsite and quickly found something to do before he was noticed.

_**Memory End**_

"What?" Sakura had a curious look on her face as one eyebrow was arched quizatively.

"Huh? Oh... uh... N-Nothing," he lied.

_"She was dreaming... about me?" _He thought to himself, quickly turning away before she could see the rubescent color change on his face. A warm tingle ran through his body as his heart danced happily. Feelings were swelling up inside him once more. Feelings he thought he had burried... how foolish.

"You coming?" She asked a bit impatiently, hands on hips trying to hint that she was disappointed that he would lie to her still.

"R-Right!" He exclaimed, louder than he intended. He reminded himself of Hinata for that brief moment.

Throwing out his trademark grin and scratching the back of his head like in his usual manner, he met his partner at her side, ready for departure.

They were once again moving at brilliant speeds, jumping from branch to branch. Every once in a while, one or the other would look at the other discretely but quickly look away when the other one returned their gaze, each showing equal amounts of embarassment in their actions.

A short while later, Sakura finally broke the silence. "Have you noticed it?"

"Huh? Err... what?" Naruto answered, distractedly.

"_It," _She replied pointedly, as if he should know. "The chakra signature. It feels so familiar... like Sa-"

"No!" Naruto blurted out, almost angrily. "Don't say it. It will only get your hopes up... and mine." Naruto now had a sad look in his eyes for a moment. His tone quickly changed, "Besides, whoever it is, we don't know for sure if it is _him_. And another thing, it could be our _target_," he emphasized the last word. "Even if it is him, we still have to stop him. And then we can drag him back home together." He threw Sakura a thumbs up and a winning smile, effectively reminding her of Lee's 'good guy pose' and cheering her up at the same time.

Sakura gave him a warm smile and returned her gaze forwards.

Suddenly, a thought had struck her. Still not looking at her teammate, she sounded out what she was thinking.

"Naruto... we're a bit ahead of schedule... aren't we?" She asked slowly, as though unsure of herself.

"Hmm?"

"Well... with that continuous nonstop travel the other day and only one real rest earlier today... Reenforcements are going to be late..."

"You mean...?" Naruto couldn't finish as the truth of the situation dawned on him.

"Precisely. If we do happen to need help... Kakashi-sensei won't be there to back us up and since the target seems to be on the move, we don't have time to wait for him," she advised in a sudden serious tone.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

_**Ten Hours Later**_

"They are still a few hours ahead of me, easy. There's no way I will catch up in time," the masked ninja concluded as he pushed off another branch with astounding force.

"As unfortunate as it is, we must hurry. Since the target has been confirmed, it only makes it that much more difficult," replied Pakkun, the Ninken mug.

"What about the our two?" Asked Kakashi.

"Unresponsive," the ninja dog answered. "By the looks of it, they have most likely-"

"Already made contact..." The silver haired shinobi interjected, frowning behind his mysterious mask.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter had fallen short in length but I managed to make it a bit longer without going into sensless drabble. That's always good, right? Haha. Hope you liked it. Let me know what you think. Next chapter will have some action in it. Yay!

Until Next Time...


	7. Enemy Contact, Love Lost

**Chapter Six**

**Enemy Contact, Love Lost**

_**-One hour prior to Kakashi's conversation with Pakkun-**_

"Wait... what's that sound?" Asked Sakura, stopping to inspect her surroundings, all the while, an undeniable feeling of familiarity rising in her gut

The moment the sound entered his ears, a coldness washed over him as an unnerving tingle ran through his spine.

"...Chirping, maybe?" Proposed Naruto, not really wanting to express the true thoughts going through his mind. "Sounds like... birds- Umph!"

Before he knew what was happening, Naruto found himself pushed out of the way for his teammate to deflect an incomming kunai with her own that was aimed at the blonde's back. For the brief moment in which the thrown kunai was deflected off of her own, a tingling sensation ran through Sakura's body as it was rendered numb for a few seconds.

"Ugh... what... was that?" Sakura asked herself, dazed. Just as the last of the tingling sensation escaped through her toes, she shook away the confusion and searched for her hidden opponent. Scanning the various branches and bushes, everything seemed so unnaturally peaceful... quiet. No birds... No crickets. Even the odd noise they heard earlier had dissipated.

With a slight panic running through him at the surprise attack, Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet and propped his back against Sakura's. Performing the hand signs of his signature move, he shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a cloud of smoke, five shadow clones appeared in defense formation with Naruto and Sakura in the middle.

Without any warning other than the subtle scrape of metal against leaves, kunai were coming from all directions. The circle of kage bunshins became tighter to protect the two in the middle. One after another, the clones were pierced and with various painful screams and grunts, they all disappeared in a large puff of smoke, momentarily blocking Naruto and Sakura from view from all directions.

Before they seemingly had enough time to react, another pair of kunai came ripping out of the leaves, but this time with the thin, barely noticable wire attached the end loops of the two weapons, connecting them together. The two kunai whized past the two defending Konoha shinobi to catch them in the wire. As the wire made contact, it prevented the kunai from going any further as the thin metallic strip pulled the kunai back to wrap around their target several times, tightly tying Naruto and Sakura as close together as possible.

What could have been a somewhat romantic moment, was turned into one of a struggle by the blond ninja. With his heart pounding and anger rising rapidly, he fought against the wire which only caused it to slice into him. Seeing this only aggravated him more. Sakura on the other hand was smart and tried to stay very still, desperate not to get cut.

Seeing how the unknown ninja had subdued his two targets, he decided to reveal himself.

When Naruto had stopped struggling, Sakura thought she knew why, but in all actuality, his rational mind seemed to be taking over as he really only stopped to prevent her from being sliced by the wire as well.

Sakura's jaw fell slightly ajar with her eyes widening, fully showing her bright emerald green orbs. She watched as the figure came into view from between two nearby bushes. Her heart sped up exponentially. A lump forming in the dryness of her throat. It seemed almost impossible to swallow.

From bottom to top she stared...

A steady_ Thump Thump_ pounded in her chest.

With his tight fitting black ninja footwear to the loose leggings of his black pants...

_Thump Thump _slowly growing louder.

The strange, purple rope belt knotted around his waist over what appears to be a light black jacket... A sword hanging from his belt behind his back. His left hand casually resting upon his waist while his right lazily hung by his side.

_Thump Thump Thump._

The throbbing inside her seemed to demand authority.

A loose fitting, long-sleeve white shirt hanging open to reveal a majority of his bare chest and toned muscles. His jet black raven hair. His eyes. The dark, condescending glare he seemed to have adopted from his older brother. The arrogant smirk he always bore.

_THUMP THUMP THUMP. _

The pounding now louder than ever in her ears felt like it could rip itself from the confines of her chest.

How his head slightly tilted to the side, innocently...

"Hey, dobe," he casually spoke at last as if nothing had ever changed.

_**THUMP-**_

The throbbing muscle in her chest seemed to skip a beat upon hearing his words while she suddenly released the long held breath she had not realized was trapped within. The amount of control his mere presence still had over her was astounding.

It was _him._

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"What should I get him...?" She asked herself. "He really likes ramen, but I'm sure they do not have anything like that here." Her eyes kept searching the shelves of the little store, once in a while picking up a random object to inspect it.

"His birthday is coming up soon and I can't just _not_ get him anything... but nothing seems to suite him." Her mind began to wander. "Nothing except..." Her eyes widened at the idea. "No, I can't... Can I? He _is _almost an adult... it should be ok. Technically, I'm not _telling_ him anything if he figures it out on his own..."

The tall, seemingly young, busty blond sighed at her own indecisiveness. "No, it _will_ be ok, afterall, I _am _the Hokage." And with that, her mind was made up. "He'll be sure to freak out once he sees it, though," she predicted. With that, she was back on her way to the dreadful land of paper work... her office.

Upon arriving, she slipped around her desk and took a lazy plop into her seat. She twisted her gaze to glare at the monstrous beast that always made its way onto her desk. After about ten minutes of a very pointless staring contest with her paperwork, she was delightfully distracted.

_Knock Knock Knock _

The knocks were barely audible. Had she still been sleeping, she certainly would not have heard them.

"Come in," she lazily called out to the door, slightly disappointed at having to quickly put away the half empty sake bottle that she had just taken out of her drawer. Hiding it behind a the paper beast on her desk, she looked unnaturally innocent towards the door.

A shy, indigo haired girl cracked open the door just barely enough to slip through the opening. She seemed to have made a relapse in her previous demeanor as she was staring at the floor as her index fingers danced together in front of her chest.

_"This is new..." _She thought to herself, curiosity seeping in, eyebrow raised. "Can I help you?" She asked, this time out loud.

"A-Ano... I-I was wondering..."

"Yes?" She asked, rather impatiently. She did not feel like waiting for her to get done with her sentence if she was going to stutter through it. If that were the case, she might as well finish her paperwork while she waited for the sentence to end. "Out with it."

"It-It's about Na-Naruto-kun..." she forced out, looking slightly taken aback.

Hearing this, Tsunade became more interested. Her mind had been on that subject since she sent Kakashi after him and Sakura. She was worried about it which was why she was not in a very talkative mood.

"I-I have been thinking, and I-I am not sure w-what t-to do." Taking a deep breath, the shy girl managed to regain some of her previous confidence to produce more fluid sentences. "H-His birthday is coming up and I have no idea of what to get him. I-I figured since you know him more on a p-personal level than I do, you could help me out," the shy girl finished rather nicely, finally looking up. She was blushing slightly, but not too much.

Seeing as it was such a trivial matter, Tsunade could not help but feel alittle disappointed as she let out a sigh and the lump in her throat cleared away. She recalled how the girl was always watching him from the shadows so she decided to show some sympathy and give her a push in the right direction, though she mostly wanted to get away from her paperwork. She smiled cunningly at the simple distraction from her Hokage duties.

"I have just the thing. I was going to give it to him myself, but then I thought of something better..." Bending over, she opened of one of her drawers. Sonconds later, the sound of ruffling papers were heard as she dug to the bottom. After her short search, she finally pulled out a medium-sized black box. A box with a seal on it. Looking up for a brief moment to see the Hyuuga's questioning gaze, Tsunade decided to confide in her the secret.

"It's a blood seal that reacts only to my blood... and it has to be fresh... like a summoning scroll." With the mention of her own blood, she could not help but shudder inwardly while thinking back to a certain battle with her ex-teammate while protecting a certain blond. She had momentarily forgotten about the shy girl waiting patiently before her.

With a confused look on her face as to why her Hokage had suddenly became very quiet, disturbed, and then smiling, though very slightly, she continued waiting silently for an explantion.

Returning back to reality, she remembered what she had been doing, so instead of fully explaining its purpose, she decided to show her. She opened another drawer and pulled out a small silver knife that only looked to be a letter opener. Using the pointed end, she pricked her thumb and slid it across the seal on the box. There was a sounding _'click'_ and the box was opened.

Curiosity was starting to get the better of her as she unconsciously leaned closer. Tsunade merely smiled at her reaction and continued.

"Now this..." She began, reaching inside. Pulling out a scroll, she smiled alittle more excitedly this time. For some reason, she seemed a bit proud of herself.

Moving the box aside, she set the scroll down in its place. A moment of silence past before she unraveled the scroll, revealing yet another seal.

"This..." She began again, "...is a seal of my own making. It's a combination seal as well as a summoning scroll. It wont release the item without the proper combination of handsigns followed by the usual handsigns for a summoning jutsu."

She went through a series of non-ending handsigns at a speed that was much too fast for her to discern, pressumably for security reasons.

Finally finishing the task with the usual five handsigns for a summoning jutsu, she spoke the words "Ketsugou Kuchiyose no Jutsu." (Combination Summoning Technique)

In a small puff of smoke, another black box even smaller than the one before it appeared within the confines of a circle that was printed upon the scroll. At this point, Hinata had become very anxious to see what was so valuble that needed to be so protected.

Tsunade handed it to Hinata.

She was hesitant at first, but at last, she put her hand out to take the box from the Hokage. Opening it, a simple onyx black ring with a clear gemstone in the center was revealed. Though a simple design, she was easily mesmerized by its beauty. She started to reach her fingers into its container, opted to take it out and place it on her own finger.

"Careful," came the cautious words of the blond woman sitting behind the desk. "It has an irreversable genjutsu on it that mesmermizes those who look at it, tempting them to put it on," she informed casually.

"What's so bad about putting it on?" She asked.

"You wont be able to take it off afterwards... That and the bodies of those who are too old or too young cannot handle its effects and once it is placed on the finger, it cannot be removed until death, but even then, the powers of the ring die with the wearer."

Surprised by the news, she wondered how such a pretty object could be so dangerous. Moving on, she asked the obvious question, "Powers... Effects?"

"It is very unique and even more complex. Even I do not know the extent of its abilities, but what I do know is this..." Seemingly preparing for a long winded discussion, she took a deep breath along with a moment to get her thoughts in order.

"This ring is supposed to help keep chakra stabilized as well as make it more compact which, in turn, allows more chakra to build up in the chakra reserves which will also be compacted. Said process repeats itself until all the chakra produces the same results. Furthermore, anything that the compacted chakra is used for will become more powerful and/or more efficient, depending how you look at it. Jutsus would need less chakra to be performed and the more chakra used, the more powerful the jutsu becomes, depending on the jutsu itself." Taking another breath, the busty blond watched as the Hyuuga took on a look of contemplation, taking in the information so far.

"As I have said once before, non-compacted chakra isn't anywhere near as powerful as compacted chakra is. Take Naruto's Rasengan, for example. I believe you have seen it." Not waiting for a confirmation or a declination, she continued, "This ring is very powerful and very expensive, even more so than the necklace Naruto wears, hence the security I have placed around it. For its effects to take place, this ring requires an amount of chakra that is equal to that of almost one thousand Kage Bunshin and that is impossible for almost _all_ ninja not of 'kage' level and you know what happens to you if the required chakra that you do not have is pulled from your body forcefully, right?" Once again not waiting for an answer, she continued, "You die... And since there is almost no one of the proper age who also has the chakra levels of a kage, all but one ring has been wasted in attempts to unlock its true potential."

"But Naruto-"

"Has that much chakra and then some, so there is no need to worry about that," she interjected, seeing the worry on her face. "He just never really knew how to put it to proper use."

Impressed by this new knowledge about her Naruto-kun, she began to think about him in an even brighter light, if that was even possible. Another question formed in her mind and it wasn't long before it was voiced.

"W-Why is there an age restriction?"

"Good question, and the answer to that is simple. If you are too young, then an immature body without the proper formation of the chakra coils would not be able to handle its affects. If you are too old... pretty much the same thing. Not enough stamina or something like that. The heart wouldn't be able to take the pressure. Anything else about this ring is unknown since no one has survived long enough to figure out all of its secrets," she added in a tone that seemed alittle too innocent for the occasion.

"Anyways! I'm gonna have to have you hand it back over to me until you are ready to give it to him. I can't risk you losing it or anything like that. If someone should know you have this thing, they'd kill you for it," she revealed as if it were no big deal.

This bit of information scared Hinata to a paling status. Tsunade saw she had to quickly fix the situation. "But not to worry!" She tried, waving her hands in front of herself as if trying to shoo away the words that escaped her mouth alittle too easily. "When you _are_ ready to give it to him, I'll be close by to make sure nothing goes wrong. But as far as I know, no one even knows this thing still exists."

This seemed to calm the scared Hyuuga girl a great deal as the natural color started returning back to her face. She felt she could go through with it if she had someone as strong as the Hokage watching over her.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

It took but just a moment for the Kyuubi's features to surface. The whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks became more defined as they deepened, his fingernails grew to a sharp pointed edge, and of course, the evil red eyes made their slitted appearance as well. Almost all the features of the nine-tailed demon fox showing on Naruto's person made it clear that he meant business and was ready to kick some ass.

"Saaassukeeee!" Came the rumbling growl from deep within his throat.

"Hmph. I remember him... Is that still all you can do?" He smirked, provoking the blond.

Kyuubi style Naruto roared half-heartedly, sending less than violent winds in the Uchiha's direction. With the absence of the bubbling crimson chakra, he was not even in the one-tailed state that he was in the last time when they fought ferociously at the Valley of the End.

To the raven haired boy, the blond was hardly a threat to him either way, but said blonde's chakra raged none-the-less.

With a somewhat disappointed sigh, he spoke again, "Then let me show you what I can do..." The raven haired teenager said, still smirking arrogantly. Not even going through a single hand sign, electricity could be seen coarsing throughout his entire body. Slowly, he then raised his arm intending to rest a single finger on Naruto shoulder but paused at the sound of a certain trembling voice.

"D-Don't do it... please, you are better than this!" Sakura pleaded with unshed tears threatening to force their way past the glassy moist barrier.

"Hmph," Sasuke rolled his eyes uncaringly and continued with his previous motion. Moments later, electricity surged through Sasuke's touch into Naruto's body. Piercing screams echoed throughout the partially forested area as the electricity now coarsed between the two touching bodies of Naruto and Sakura.

A wave of shock and disbelief washed over Sasuke's face as his former female teammate's form disappeared into a puff of smoke. He unintentionally took a half step back.

"Wha-?! She must've... before the smoke had cleared ealier!" Sasuke whirled around expecting to see a super charged Sakura coming at him... but nothing.

Jumping through her own clone's dispersal smoke before it had cleared, Sakura aimed a super chakra charged punch at the mid-back of her former and possibly still, crush.

Though with his Sharingan still unactivated from his underestimation of his former teammates, Sasuke could still sense the devasting attack coming at him. With only a second to spare, it was all he could do to prevent the attack from connecting with his spinal column. Like he had done not long before, he barely shifted his weight, causing the said attack to strike his injured shoulder instead, sending a chilling, bone breaking crunch through the air.

The pink haired medic couldn't help but grimace at the obvious damage and pain she just inflicted upon the one she used to call Sasuke-_kun_.

Through the force of the blow, he was sent tumbling over himself through the grass and dirt. Just then, an identical Sakura tore through the bushes and landed a super charged chakra kick to his side, surely obliterating a few ribs and sending him airborn in the process.

By this time, Naruto had already escaped the ninja wire, made possible by the now missing body of Sakura's clone which before had made it too tight to escape without accidently dispersing her clone himself. His jacket was left entangled in the wires as he jumped into the fray.

The Sakura that had first struck the raven haired jackass was now meeting him in the air, ready to continue her combo. With two fists clamped together, Sakura landed yet another super charged chakra strike, slamming the Uchiha back to Earth, leaving him his own personal crator. He coughed up blood to go with it.

"You should not have underestimated us! You wouldn't be in this mess if you had used your Sharingan when you found who you were dealing with!" Sakura yelled furiously yet deeply saddened at the same time. Nolonger holding back her grief, the once unshed tears were seen flowing freely. She then let her clone disperse, revealing that the real one was the one that had tore through the bushes.

As if by demand of the pink haired girl, _it_ happened. Sasuke stared her down defiantly only to further enrage the incoming blond. Turning his cursed eyes to gaze upon Naruto's yelling form as he came in for the finishing blow.

"Wait, Naruto!" She screamed, but amidst his rage, he heard no warning.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he thrusted the blue sphere into Sasuke's gut. To Naruto's and Sakura's surprise and horror alike, the blue orb ate through the Uchiha's body and disappeared into a heap of writhing serpents... A clone... a snake clone. Or was it a replacment with the creapy crawlies? They weren't sure.

"Chidori!" The voice yelled from behind him without any warning.

Naruto whirled around at the last second to see a flash of pink and red before closing his eyes, expecting to feel the immense pain bringing the end of him. He cringed as he did indeed feel pain and blood trickle down his cheek and then down his chest through his torn shirt. He slowly opened his eyes again when death had yet to take him.

The lightning attack had barely grazed him as Sakura was standing in front of him with a look of horror and tremendous pain etched on her face. Blood had trickled out of the corner of her mouth and down her chin. With mind numbing horror, Naruto raised a trembling right hand to his own cheek to feel the moistness splashed upon it and pulled it away to see the crimson color on his fingertips. It was not his blood... _it was hers. _He had forgotten to breath as he carried his still trembling hand to her face this time, cupping her left cheek.

Cold red eyes stared at him over the back of Sakura's right shoulder as the familiar light, streaked and zig-zagged in and out of sight, barely touching and cutting Naruto's stomach before finally fading into nothing. With his hand still resting gently on her cheek, he felt, rather than saw, how his hand was ruthlessly pulled from Sakura's abdomen and out of her lower back. With so much pain in her eyes, Sakura forcibly stumbled forward by the retraction of the hand, caught by Naruto in her slow-motion decent to the ground.

"S-S-Sakura!!" Fear was completely taking over with a complete disregard for his own survival. Terrified, Naruto gently laid her down, resting her head in his arms, pink and bloody strands of hair strewn over her sweaty, paling face before releasing a bloody cough.

"C'mon Sakura! S-Stay with me!" Fear and panic was the only thing on Naruto's face. Had it been anyone else, he'd probably would have already been overcome with the demon's chakra but the odd familiar presence in his mind told him that that particular chakra was being withheld from him by the hands of the Uchiha; or in this case, held back by his cursed bloodline.

"Nar...uto..." She managed to say, barely above a whisper. Her left hand was now the one resting on his check this time. She smiled weakly and tried to force out a few more words, but no sound came out this time. Her hand fell to the ground... motionless... lifeless. The once tremendous throbbing in her chest was no more.

"Sa-Sa-Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan?! C'mon! No... no, no no! SAKURA!!" Naruto wailed despairingly, tears streaming effortlessly from his eyes. Grief filled his heart like never before.

She was gone...

Her blank stare and loving smile stuck to her face. A single tear escaped from the corner of her right eye as it rolled down behind her ear into her redish pink hair. Naruto hung his head low, hugging her close, and cried hysterically into the crook of her neck.

Sasuke took this time to escape, battered and broken and still coughing up his own blood. Far worse than the simple shoulder wound earlier.

In the backround, a figure melted into the shadows unnoticed. Naruto was left alone, complete and utterly alone.

One final yell peirced into the early morning skies.

**"SASUKE!!"**

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, how sad! Sorry to leave you guys hanging there but I had make sure to leave a lasting impression... I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter... disappointing...

Anyways, please let me what you think about the chapter and the fight scene. Though there wasn't all that much action in it, I put good thought into it. Also, that ring. I know it seems too good to be true, and no, it will not make Naruto a _super ninja_, but it will play an important role later in the story.

On another note, this is a long chapter for me with over 4,000 words. Not too shabby.

**Next Chapter: Kakashi looks down solemnly at his motionless pupil.**

__

**"As a ninja, she died protecting those she loved..."**

Until Next Time...


	8. Tears of Joy

**Chapter Seven**

**Tears of Joy**

Stopping to take in the heavenly fragrance of various roses and flowers just placed on the counter, she couldn't help but remember a time so many years ago. A time when her and her pink haired rival was something else. Something better. Something _more._ They used to be _real_ friends. Even though they were supposed to be in kunoichi training, they were so carefree.

Flower arranging, she remembered. For her it was such an easy class, but she felt sorry for the pink haired girl. She was lousy at it. They became such good friends that day.

_"I wonder how things are working out,"_ the blond pondered casually as she started on a new flower arrangement in her family store.

_"All this time alone... something must have happened between them," _the clueless blonde told herself inwardly.

"And if they... get together... Sasuke will be mine!" She revealed quietly with a jubilant smile.

Little did she think of what the consequences may be...

_"Find some time alone with him. Remember all the great things he has done for you... and compare them with the things Sasuke has done... for anyone."_

_"... ..."_

_"Give him a chance... He might make you happy."_

She didn't know why the words suddenly came back to her. Words that had been directed to her friend... her so-called 'rival'. Words disguised as advice. It was supposed to be her 'plan' to win the raven haired boy over in the end, but where would it really lead her...?

Deep down, she feared it would be nothing more than a dead end... a lonely road. Thoughts suddenly crossing over to a timid dark haired girl, always hiding in the background.

This strange thought suddenly triggered a new emotion, or at least one she wasn't quite familiar with. It stung her heart as her mind conjured vague images of a distraught girl.

She wondered if she had done the right thing. She wondered where her simple actions might lead...

The painful yet subtle emotion gripped her heart tighter... Because of her, someone's fragile heart will surely be shattered... but whose?

Guilt. It was such a powerful emotion, next to love. The things it could make you do.

"I'll have to make her tell me _everything _once she gets back," she said to herself in a more caring tone.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"They have been gone for several days now. He must be having a great time with her..." She thought sadly to herself as she completed her morning chores.

"He probably forgot all about me. How can I compare with her, afterall...?" Hinata was spoiling her previously happy mood. Upon waking up that morning, the Hyuuga was in a positively happy mood, for it was another day, and each day brought the possibility of Naruto's return. Remembering this, she reproved herself.

"No! I must not think that way. W-We hugged. He-He k-kissed me. He d-definately sees something in me," she convinced herself adamently.

Finishing the last of her chores, she decided to further progress her training after breakfast.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto was still silently sobbing. The tears that had once cascaded down his cheeks would no longer flow. With a dying heart, he lifted his head to look down on his teammate. The supposed love of his life... The once radiant, joyful emerald green eyes had taken on a lackluster appearance... dull and lifeless... and she would never be looking at him again.

He closed her forever staring eyes with his shaky fingers. It was like admitting her death. It felt worse. _So_ much worse. And it tore him up inside. The helpless blond, once again, began sobbing loudly into the crook of her neck.

_"Do something, you damned fox!" _He tried, hopelessly. "_If you are so damned powerful, SAVE HER!"_

**"... ..." **

He recieved nothing but silence from the depths of his inner mind. With his closed fist, he mindlessly pounded the ground in frustration.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

With no rest, the help of food pills, and through sheer determination, the silver haired Jounin finally arrived and just like he predicted, he was too late. He frowned as he took in the sight. His heart sank.

It wasn't supposed to be like this...

He stared at Naruto's shaking form bent over his motionless teammate. Only able to see her face and legs, she looked so peaceful, smiling gently. Almost like she was sleeping... dreaming. His heart sank further... but she _wasn't _sleeping.

Kakashi slowly treaded the short distance between him and his students to only to pause on Sakura's other side, in front of Naruto. The distressed blond suddenly snapped out of his daze at the arrival of his silver haired sensei and the morning rays gently reflecting off his hitai-ate still covering his Sharingan clad eye. He looked up to his sensei with his distraught, tear stained visage.

Kakashi looked down solemnly at his motionless pupil. A tear silently fell from his visible eye before his better senses dawned on him.

"I... I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. S-She took the hit... it was... supposed to be me. It shoulda' been me!" The blond struggled to say through sobbing gasps for air. Apparently he had cried so much in the last hour, there just did not appear to be any more tears to shed.

_"No ninja... no, no living thing should have to endure this... real or not,"_ Kakashi thought as he pushed up his hitai-ate to reveal his red, triple tomoe stricken eye. His Sharingan revealed the truth. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked over her body. The gaping wound in her abdomen nolonger visble due to the power of his dojutsu. The blood that his other eye had witnessed everywhere, was now nowhere to be seen. And the last thing that his other, normal eye could not see... the faintest sign of her slowly rising and falling chest.

"He made her feel it... and believe it... and he made _you _see it. He certainly did a number on you both," he revealed, quickly getting over trembling in his voice.

Naruto's eyes became as wide as ever. His heart jumped into his throat. "You mean...?" He couldn't quite find the words. His heart, that had only moments ago felt like it was going to fall out of his chest, sprang back to life as it thudded mercilessly against his chest. Vague memories ushered into his racing mind.

_...As if by demand of the pink haired girl, __it__ happened. Sasuke stared her down defiantly only to further enrage the incoming blond. Turning his cursed eyes to gaze upon Naruto's yelling form as he came in for the finishing blow..._

_...Naruto whirled around at the last second to see a flash of pink and red before closing his eyes..._

_...Cold red eyes stared at him over the back of Sakura's right shoulder..._

It was all coming together now, starting to make sense... The accursed eyes of the Uchiha!

Kakashi brought his hands together to form the handseals of the Horse and Tiger and with some concentration, he muttered, "Kai."

Naruto, recognizing the dispelling jutsu, returned his gaze to his teammate, seeing the wound... and all the blood disappear. "She's not..."

"Dead? No... " Informed a very relieved Kakashi, discretely wiping away at moist eyes.

Naruto's own eyes started to slightly tear up once again. He almost started sobbing into her neck once more. He settled with cradling her into his arms.

_Tears of joy_ never felt so good.

"But by the looks of it," Kakashi went on with a fully regained composure, kneeling down next to the two worn out shinobi, his years of experience feeding him information "...she won't be waking up anytime soon... I have never seen this much damage... such a powerful genjustu caused by just the first stage of the Sharingan. At least not by anyone other than... _his brother_," he revealed, almost impressed at how the genjustu was not only placed on these two shinobi, but the entire battle area as well. Anyone to tread upon these grounds would have seen the... fake... damage to her body.

There was silence for several minutes.

"As soon as we re-enter the Fire Nation, we'll get some rest. We'll set out back to Konoha by Noon," Kakashi decided, surprising Naruto with his sudden 'take charge' attitude.

Silently agreeing, he carefully picked of the limp form of his teammate and headed back the way he came.

Only about an hour later, they were already a few miles inside their own border. "This is fine," informed the masked Jounin.

Jumping down from his branch, Naruto gently landed at the base of a nearby tree. Carefully, he laid Sakura down, perching her head atop of her own backpack as a pillow. Using the same concept as before, he created several clones. Still being so close to the border, it was a neccessary precaution to create more than last time.

Kakashi immediately noted his tactic. "That's pretty smart. But you forgot something..."

Half expecting to get some sort of last minute tutoring, he looked to Kakashi only to see something thrown at him. Before he had time to react, his jacket was already covering his head.

"You left it back there."

Naruto had not even noticed he wasn't wearing it. The numbness still stretching throughout his body had not aloud the tender coldness to register in his mind. After removing the jacket from his head, he covered his pink haired companion with it, her subtle shudder subsiding. Her breathing was still very shallow.

Soon after, Naruto was giving into sleep as he laid himself next to his friend, mentally vowing not to leave her side until she was better.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_"As a ninja, she died protecting those she loved... I'd rather not go into details." Remembering the sequence of events was hard enough on her, let alone talking about them._

_Seeing the blonde's sad and unsatisfied facial expression, something inside willed her to tell her something to ease her mind._

_"She was a powerful shinobi in her time. She was very adept to wind jutsus as well as the way of the mind. She made her own jutsus to go with that knowledge, but these mind jutsus put a large strain on her own as well. She created jutsus to explore the minds of her target and attack them from within if she chose to do so, among other things."_

_The blond perked up, "Really?"_

_"But this... this was her downfall," her trembling voice was proof that she was now on the verge of tears. She continued, "O-One day, she p-pushed herself t-too far." The woman could no longer hold back her silent tears. _

_Crying could be heard through the darkness of the dream._

"Damn it!" Yelled a grumpy blond. "I'm getting tired of this. WHO are they?!"

Startled by the sudden commotion, the Jounin jumped to his feet from his sleeping position. Even Sakura stirred in her deep, _deep_ sleep while his own clones looked around in confusion.

_Sigh._ "What are you going on about now, Naruto?" Asked an extremely fatigued sensei.

"Ugh, it's nothing," he lied, still aggitated.

"It's obviously something. Especially if it has you distracted enough to think outside her current condition," he deducted, nodding a head at the girl beside him.

A bit hesitant, he started to explain. "For the last couple days, I been having these wierd dreams, ok?"

"Weird? How?"

"I dunno. I can't see anything but I hear everything. It's like a story is being told but I know nothing about the characters," he revealed, sounding alittle too smart in his discription.

"You're right. That is wierd. Do you hear anything that could be crucial knowledge to unlocking the meaning behind these dreams?" He asked, starting to sound very interested.

"Other than it's always the same two women... Um... Oh! The first one. It mentioned something about an ANBU Captain, but it wasn't a voice I recognized. It also mentioned something about a foreign ninja, but never said from where. The only discription it gave was of his dark sunglasses."

_"Hmmm... there is one person like that I know that is out on a mission,"_ Kakashi thought interestedly, getting more into the story.

"This girl keeps asking for information about her parents... So far, I've found out they were both shinobi." Naruto concentrated on his thoughts. "This last one started going into some detail about some jutsu this girl's mother created."

"Well if she created it, that could give us an identity," he thought again, but this time out loud.

"You mean you think these people could be real?" Naruto asked incredulously, doubting his sensei's mentality. "You sure you haven't lost a few marbles in your old age?"

With a chuckle, he answered, "Well you never know what some of these jutsus can do nowadays," he defended. "Now tell me what you heard."

Naruto told him the little bit of information he learned from his dream.

"Well that's not much to go on... Maybe the Yamanaka clan would be of more help. Let me know if you find out anything else." Looking up at the sky through the trees, he added, "It's almost Noon. We should get ready to move out," Kakashi added.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Team Seven has just reported in, via Pukkun, as you can see," she said, motioning to the dog sitting casually on her desk. "The note says they will be back in under two days," the Hokage informed in a very nonchalant tone while reading off the note and relaying the information it prescribed in the process..

Jaraiya just stood in front of her desk, expecting more information. "Well?!" He said at last, exasperated.

"What?" Tsunade replied slyly, holding back a sneer.

"Details, woman!" The impatient Sannin demanded in a yell. "I have more _research_ to conduct!"

Partially satisfied with her torture but mainly disgusted with the man's perverted comment, she continued reading slowly, _"It was him alright. A battle ensued. He underestimated them though. Almost got himself killed, so I'm told."_

"Heh. That's Naruto for you!" Jaraiya stated proudly after hearing Kakashi's words read aloud.

"Actually, it says here that it was Sakura who did it," she corrected proudly while pointing a finger at a line of handwriting, effectively crushing his pride. He slumped into a chair. _"Unfortunately he got away... " _Tsunade's tone changed dramatically to a sad and trembling one as she continued reading, _"but not without killing Sakura in the process." _Tsunade and Jaraiya visibly paled at the information she just read out.

"Wh-What?" He stumbled on his words.

Tsunade forced herself to continue reading. _"Luckily it was just genjutsu! Naruto just didn't know it." _A part of her suddenly became very pissed while the other part of her became extremely relieved. Being her usual self with a reputation to keep, she decided to voice her very pissed off mood first.

"Damn that Kakashi!!" She yelled as she slammed her hands down on the desk, surprisingly not breaking it in half this time.

"Ack!" Jaraiya let out as he comically fell out of his chair upon hearing this new information revealed. He quickly rose to his feet as if it never happened. "What the hell is the matter with that man?! How could he do that! That's no way to behave!" Nowhere near finished reprimanding the non-present Jounin, he continued, "I was worried! I thought-"

"I know... _I know_," she growled, now becoming pissed off at the rambling man in front of her for stating the obvious.

Jaraiya stopped mid-rant at her interruption. He noted the irritation in her voice and knew that was just about as good as saying 'shut the hell up'. In her own little way, it was frightening and it made him forget everything he was about to say.

"Uh..." was all he could manage.

Their minds finally settled down as they both realized how relieved they really were. Their eyes met briefly before there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

With the door swung open, it revealed a rather bored looking Chuunin.

"Ah, Shikamaru. How was Suna? All went well, I suppose?" Tsunade asked.

"Yep," was all he said as he handed in his report while he stared out the window.

"Good. Dismissed," she said plainly. He walked out the door with his hands back in his pockets.

"So why was Sasuke in Amegakure?" He asked a few minutes after the door was closed.

"He must have had a lead on Akatsuki... or more directly, Uchiha Itachi," she answered, returning to her usual, cold demeanor.

"But there's no way he got away without _them_ knowing... especially not if we already know," Jaraiya stated knowingly.

For a moment, Tsunade merely stared out of her office window, apparently deep in though.

"Mm."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Foolish little brother. Knowing where I am... What difference do you think it would make if you cannot even kill your old teammates. Your hatred is still lacking..." Said a familiar arrogant voice.

Another form melted into the ground and out of sight, as if he were never there.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**Six Hours Later**

A blur of orange, pink, and red flashed by the two Jounin guards stationed at the North gate of Konohagakure.

"What the-" One of the guards exclaimed. They both scrambled out of their seats and out of the small guard house to stare after the vanishing figure... figure**s**.

Another figure appeared in a flash just a few feet away from where the two Jounin were now standing. The masked arrival was clad with a green vest and spikey silver hair.

"Yo," was all he said with his signature wave and the usual tilt of his head. The expression on his face showed he was smiling behind his masked but it did a poor job of hiding his fatigue.

"Oh, it's you guys. We weren't expecting you back for at least another day," the dark haired Jounin on the left informed.

Kakashi looked up at the now still high, but slowly sinking sun in the partially clouded skies. It was late afternoon. Dark in a few more hours. He was subtly surprised to see the progress they made, or rather, the progress that Naruto practically forced upon them.

"Actually a day and _a half_," he corrected, trying to make their accomplishment seem that much bigger. Without another word, the Jounin dragged himself to the Hokage Tower.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Yo," came the Jounin's usual greeting as he appeared before the Hokage, now only accompanied by her assistant.

With his fatigue slowing his mind, the masked ninja was knocked out cold before he knew what hit him... literally.

"Tsunade!" Shizune started before said person drowned out her voice.

"That's what you get for writing such a misguiding letter. You had me worried shitless!" The infuriated blonde yelled before finally realizing the Jounin wasn't getting up.

"Tsunade!" Her assistant tried again.

"Oh, get off my back! I didn't even hit him that hard. I didn't even use chakra."

"Well he was obviously fatigued. He just traveled an almost two day distance in just six hours!"

"Wait... six hours? You're right..." Tsunade ignored Shizune's bold 'no duh' comment as she wondered what could have possibly made them rush so damn fast. "Where's Naruto?"

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Tsunade is so mean, but hey, you got to learn alittle more about those 'wierd' dreams.

Anyways... What did ya think? Reviews would be appreciated. I'm starting to think nobody is reading anymore... and if that's the case, I just might take more time before releases. (So change my mind 'wink wink'. )

Until Next Time..


	9. Rising Emotion

**Chapter Eight**

**Rising Emotion**

_"Find some time alone with him. Remember all the great things he has done for you... and compare them with the things Sasuke has done..."_

_--_

_"Sasuke-kun, thank you for that time you saved me from the grip of the sand."_

_"... no."_

_"What?"_

_"... The one who saved you was Naruto."_

_"No way. You're just being modest. Sure, Naruto is getting stronger, but that sand guy..."_

_"It's the truth... To save you, that guy risked death. Up until now, you haven't really seen him, so you haven't seen his strength either."_

_Though at first unbelieving of this information, a part of her knew it was true._

_A sweet, gentle smile aimed at her newfound savior._

_--_

_"Naruto! I beg you!!"_

_"Please... Please bring sasuke back!"_

_"Don't worry! I'll bring him back! That's a promise of a lifetime!"_

_--_

"Nnn..."

Kakashi, who was standing by the window in the hospital room, managed to break his eye away from his _Icha Icha Paradise_ book to look up at the noise.

The Jounin watched as the kunoichi shifted in her sleep, a large improvement in her responses since she arrived. Naruto was sleeping in a chair next to her bed, bent over her sleeping form.

"Nnn..." It came again followed by a change in her breathing style that signified her turn from unconsciousness to consciousness.

With a slow deep breath intake, she started to open her eyes. "Wh-Where... am I?" She asked groggily with a yawn.

"Home, in a manor of speaking," he told her. "More specifically, the hospital."

Sakura shifted her gaze towards the window. Sunlight was creeping through closed blinds. Though her vision was still a bit hazy, she could distinguish her sensei putting away _that_ book.

"H-How?" She asked, more concerned with the manner of her survival rather than the scowl she would normally give him for reading such perverse book.

"He hardly left your side," Kakashi replied, nodding his head in the direction of the sleeping Gennin. "Not even for ramen. He ate 'hospital food' for you."

Looking down the length of her body, she expected to see herself in bandages but instead, saw a piecefully sleeping blond instead. With a furrowed brow and a grim line set across her lips, she looked troubled... confused as the events of the fight replayed in her head. Her eyes widened in bewilderment as a few of the facts dawned on her.

"Genjutsu. A pretty powerful one at that. It even fooled you." He paused a moment to get his thoughts in order.

"If he hadn't kept talking to you while you were out... your brain might have even been fooled into thinking you were actually dead before shutting down your internal systems," the Jounin revealed, with a slight hint of concern on his otherwise, expressionless face. "That was, of course, on the way here. Tsunade took a look at you the moment she was informed of your condition, but in no way did that shut his yap. Not one bit..." He let out a soft chuckle at the remembrance.

An awkward silence went by as Sakura broke her gaze to let her eyes wonder briefly around the room. It wasn't long before her eyes settled on a calendar hanging on the wall to the right of her bed, next to the window. It certainly did not help her any seeing how the calendar still read _September_ instead of October.

Seeing her intent gaze on the calendar, the perceptive Jounin knew what she must have been thinking.

"You have been out cold for four days, almost five," he answered her unspoken question, causing her to return her gaze upon her sensei. "

Naruto turned the two day journey into just six hours. He would not rest until we re-entered the Fire Country. After that, it was nonstop until he got you to the hospital... Thank Kami for food pills or else neither one of us would have made it back so quickly, at least not without collapsing along the way," he finished at last, though silently thinking about his student's extraordinary stamina, he was mainly referring to himself. Kakashi's visible eye took on a glazed effect as his mind wondered off somewhere else.

Sakura merely stared, awestruck by Naruto's iron will, intent on getting her medical treatment. Her eyes slowly wondered from Naruto to Kakashi and back again. She suddenly remembered her 'last moment' with Naruto and wondered if he would remember it too. Those last words she couldn't voice...

Kakashi looked at his pink haired student curiously as she turned a light shade of pink for apparently no reason. She was clearly zoning out. Whatever it was going through her mind had her acting almost like Hinata. It looked a bit unnatural as she smiled sweetly down on Naruto with the softest expression in her eyes, but at the same time... it suited her just fine.

As the blond suddenly stirred in his sleep, Sakura was practically forced out of her daydream to refocuse her thoughts.

"Seems that's my cue," the Jounin said as the boy was waking up. "Give Naruto my regards and tell him to come find me when he has the chance."

Sakura nodded in response and Kakashi proceeded across the room and out the door. Her eyes followed him in a scowl as his hand reach to his pouch to pull out a certain book.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura called out as softly as she could without further disturbing her sleeping friend.

Kakashi poked his head back into the doorway to let her know he was there.

"What day is it?" She asked simply.

With a knowing smile creasing his eyes, he answered, "October 10th." He waited a moment to see if there was anything else. He noted her stunned silence as that was all she wanted and took his leave.

_"October 10th?"_ She repeated in her mind, slighty taken aback and watching him once more. _"But that's his-"_

"Uhhh-yagh," the boy yawned oddly, signalling him awake. "Hmm...?" He sounded off sleepily. His eyes slowly wondered to meet the gazing green orbs of his teammate. Seeing as she was finally conscious, he himself suddenly became very awake.

"S-Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Making no effort to hide his happiness nor his relief, he sprang up and embraced the unsuspecting girl in a tight hug. Normally what would have been a near fatal mistake on his part in the past, was only met with complete surprise. Before she could figure out whether or not she wanted to hit him or hug him back, he had already released her and was practically bouncing around the room with joy.

She couldn't help but smile at his childish, yet cute reaction. Waiting for him to make it back to her side once more, she spoke. "Happy Birthday, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was stunned silent as his yelps for joy were suddenly halted by his teammate's gentle words. Through wide blue orbs, he stared slack-jawed as his friend. He had no idea that she even knew when his birthday was. To make things worse for him, his brain felt like it stopped functioning as a strange feeling overwhelmed him. A gentle electrifying sensation shot through his cheek. He was utterly stunned as her soft lips met his strangely smooth cheek. _A kiss?_

She quickly pulled away shyly, looking away from his wide cerulean blue eyes and with a sweet smile, directed her gaze at her shaky nervous hands upon her bedsheets.

There was a strangely passionate look in her eyes, even though they were no longer directed at him. Without thinking, as usual, he slowly leaned in for another moment of bliss.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Now where is that kid? Don't tell me he's still _there_," a tall busty blond woman said to herself after checking a vacant Ichiraku stand. "I didn't remember his birthday for nothing. And I sure as hell didn't go through all the trouble for nothing to get _this,_ either," she contined ranting to herself, holding up a small blue box with an odd looking ribbon wrapped around it.

"It's almost Noon too. I'm sure Naruto is dying for some ramen by now. Maybe I'll be nice and get something for him." Tsunade stepped under the paper flaps and took a seat at one the bar stools.

"Oh! Hokage-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Asked Teuchi, the ramen chef.

"Naruto..." She replied wearily.

"Ah, that explains it," he chuckled.

"How is Naruto doing? We haven't seen him in awhile," Ayame asked, stirring up some noodles, looking mildly interested.

"Hospital," Tsunade simply replied.

"Oh no, what happened?" Ayame sounded off, worry in her tone.

"Oh, nothing happened to him. He's just visiting the hospital, and not as a patient this time," Tsunade was the one to chuckle this time.

"Well that's good. So what can I getcha' today?" Teuchi asked, relieved at knowing his best costumer was well.

"Good question, hmmm... Two bowls of... Naruto's favorite?" She answered innocently, not actually knowing what his favorite was, "To go," she added.

Teuchi chuckled once more, "Right away!"

Five minutes later and Tsunade was saying her goodbyes and proceeding down the street on her way to the hospital with two steaming styrofoam bowls of ramen in a bag that was conveniently labeled after the shop. About eight minutes later, she was coming up on the giant white building when she recognized a figure just standing outside the hospital building, just staring at it.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"N-Naruto's been back for three days and he still hasn't even come to see me," she said to herself sadly, her index index fingers doing their usual dance in front of her chest.

"That is because he hasn't left the hospital since they got back," informed a voice out of nowhere.

"Eep!" The startled Hinata let out, unaware that there was someone standing behind her. Whirling around, she was face to... breast with... Looking up, she peered into the honey brown eyes of the big busted blond, though she was not looking at her, but at the hospital instead.

"A-A-Ano... how l-long have you b-been there?" She implored, flushed and embarrassed.

"...Not long. Just came to visit ... Sakura... and well, Naruto too, I guess," she replied as she lifted a lazy hand to draw attention to the bag. Hinata could tell what it was as the tasty aroma drifted to her nose.

"O-Oh..." She said in return, focusing her own gaze back towards the building behind her.

"Don't forget about the ring..." she reminded nonchalantly. "Perhaps you should wait in my office. If you go to see him without a gift, he might think you forgot," she added with a wink.

"Hai!" She replied enthusiatically.

"I'll cya around."

"Hai."

Her gaze followed the back of the retreating Hokage, who lifted her hand in a sort of backward wave towards the girl. Moments later, she disappeared through the hospital doors with that bag of ramen in her other hand. And surely after that, she was traversing the hallways looking for her student and little brother figure. Moments later, Team Seven's Kakashi Hatake was seen walking out of the very same doors.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Startled, but subconsciously accepting, their lips were just mere inches apart when...

"Hey! I brought ramen... huh? Ohhh." Tsunade's face changed from a cheery visage to that of a sadistic sneer as the two shinobi tore their faces away from each other. Unable to hold back the brilliant hue shinning from their cheeks, Sakura tried hiding under her pillow as Naruto simply looked out the window behind him, or at least he tried to, seeing as the blinds were still shut. He then made an effort to keep his eyes on the floor.

"Ohhh, did I interrupt something?" With blunt sarcasm sounding in her voice, the sneer on her face became even more evident.

"Of-Of course not!" Sakura panicked, muffled behind the pillow. Naruto stayed silent, though by now probably yelling obscenities in his head at the woman.

Tsunade walked to Naruto's side and nudged him in the shoulder with the bag of ramen.

Smelling the beautful aroma, he shyly turned his head in its direction. Tsunade started to wave it in his face so the ramen depraved boy snatched it from her hands and took the two bowls from its bag. Having reluctantly come out of hiding, Sakura, whose cheeks still matched her hair, found herself with a bowl of ramen slipped into her hands.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his ramen sacrifice but decided to keep the sarcastic remarks at bay this time... barely.

She smiled at the two love-birds but then frowned as Hinata's image somehow poked its way into her mind. She sighed inwardly.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto," Tsunade said at last.

"Hehe, thanks," he sputtered with ramen noodles hanging from his lips. He scratched his head with his chopstick-free hand and let loose his usual goofy grin, loosing a noodle back into his bowl in the process.

"Here, before I forget," she offered. She tossed him the small white-ribboned blue box, not much unlike Hinata's black box with its future red ribbon.

After finishing his food, he pushed his bowl aside to open his gift. He tried and tried to open it, but to no avail. "What gives?" He asked at last, only slightly aggitated with ramen still on the brain.

"It's sealed. It will not open until midnight," she answered.

"What?! Why?" He exclaimed.

"Because I don't wanna be here when you open it," she answered a bit reluctantly. "So be happy you even got anything."

Surprsingly, that shut Naruto up as words that were about to shoot from his mouth got caught in his throat and left him gaping like a fish. Finally, he returned her thoughts to the box as he wondered what could be inside it. Excitedly, he shook it close to his ear but frowned when it gave no noise. Amazingly, at this point, his eyes caught hold of the odd ribbon. After closer inspection, he noticed that the white ribbon he had tried pulling on also doubled as the seal.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura broke in, still slightly flustered.

Tsunade looked at her questioningly.

"Can I get out of here?" She asked pleadingly.

"Hmm, I don't see why not... just make sure to wash up before you go," she generously advised and with a cynical thought, she added, "I don't think the spongebath Naruto gave you was good enough."

Sakura's gentle face became one of uncontrollable embarrassment mixed mith unimaginable rage.

"WHAT?!" Sakura shot Naruto an ominous death glare that made one of Tsunade's look like a lost puppy dog on a rainy day.

Naruto was shocked speechless by the accusation. All he could manage was, "Uh-Uh-Uh-I-I-I-" Unbeknownst to them, Tsunade's slightly frightned countenance had contorted to a desperate look of holding back tremendous laughter.

Just before poor Naruto was struck down by an angry yet still embarrassed Sakura, Tsunade's iron will had given in as she let out an uncontrollable fit of laughter which actually managed to stop Sakura as she had a hold of Naruto's collar with her fist drawn back ready to give him the need to be in the hospital for three more days instead of her.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!" After about a minute of _tremendous_ laughing, Tsunade showed to be having signs of troubled breathing as she still could not stop herself from going into silent fits of laughter; since she no longer had the air supply in her lungs to keep laughing out loud.

Realizing the reason which brought on the spontanious laughing, Sakura pushed Naruto over in his chair in her effort to get close enough to her medical sensei. Merely a second later, Tsunade found herself on the floor with a bloody broken nose and a still enraged Sakura standing over her.

"It was so worth it..." Tsunade wheezed through pained words as she brought a hand to her face glowing with green chakra.

Feeling a little better with her 'excercise,' she now had enough mind to feel the slight breeze through the open back flap of her hospital gown. Flush with her heart thudding against her chest like crazy, she whirled around with her fist raised fully prepared to knock Naruto back out of his seat. Surprised that he turned his head away from the much desired sight out of respect for her, she slowly lowered her fist. She had even surprised herself, but only slightly, that she even took the time to check if he was looking or not.

"What a gentleman," Tsunade teased, now talking normally with her cleared nasal passage.

Sakura whirled around _yet again_ with another right punch thrown out at her face.

This time, she saw it coming and easily dodged it by simply moving her head to the side. What the over confident medical genius did not expect was Sakura's knee making full contact to her abdomen.

_Cough_. "Okay... You gotta... stop doing that," she commanded through her gasps for air.

"Hmph," she complied and walked to the restroom, this time with her hand holding her back flap firmly closed.

With Sakura out of the room, Naruto got over his new found fear of his teammate and alittle too soon, he commented, "You're getting slow, Baa-chan..."

To contradict his remark, she flash stepped the short ten feet between them and kicked his chair out from under him.

"I am _not _slow... and quit calling me that!" She added.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto heard the shower stop and watched as Sakura came out of the restroom another five minutes later. Her pink hair was still damp as it was just towel dried, but it was combed neatly. She wore a casual white t-shirt and short blue jeans that came half way down her thighs.

Naruto blushed and couldn't help but smile. "You look great."

"Uh... Thank you," she replied, not expecting his compliment. "Where'd my clothes come from?"

"Oh... I got them from your house. After coming back from your room, your mom handed me those clothes... just how you saw them in there on the counter," he informed.

She was at first embarrassed but then relieved because her undergarments we hidden between her shirt on top and her shorts underneath. She wondered whether or not they had actually came that way.

"I also gave her the clothes you were wearing before, so she could wash em for ya," he added with a small smile.

"Thanks..." She said, unsure if she should be embarrassed or not, but at the same time, she was thankful to Naruto for doing so much for her while she was out.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yeah... I should get you a birthday present, especially since you've done so much for me these past few days," she answered, shyly at the last part.

"Nah, that's ok... You already did..." He replied, thinking back less than thirty minutes ago with a slight blush.

Sakura made a blush to match his and looked at the floor. Noticing the lack of sarcastic comments, she looked up again, "Where's Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh, she had to go. Something about 'meeting someone' back at the Hokage tower," he told her.

"Good," she whispered to herself.

Naruto then put the small blue box in his pocket and with his jacket thrown over his shoulder, they both headed out of the room and a few minutes later, out of the hospital.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I did a lot of revising to make sure the facts were straight.

By the way, the next chapter should decide the pairings so who do you think it should it be? Personally, I think Sakura and Naruto share a deeper bond now so I believe it should go that way, but who knows. I wanna know what you guys think, so tell me. Short notice? Yes, I know. But I completely forgot, lol. Sorry. If I get enough reviews, I just might do a one-shot alternate pairing so everybody is happy...

Until Next Time...


	10. Epiphany

**Chapter Nine**

**Epiphany**

**A/N: **In this chapter, words in _Italic _are used to show words being heard in another conversation (eavesdropped) and as thoughts.

* * *

_"I don't... go... back on... my word... That... is also my ninja way!" She stammered in between troubled breathing._

_Amazed onlookers watched as Hinata struggled to keep her balance, intent on proving herself. Intent to show a certain blond just how strong she really is. Determined to be noticed... by him!_

_"I never knew... Hinata was this incredible..." Mumbled the blond, transfixed on the fight, on her determination to win._

_"She's very similar to you," piped up the taijutsu specialist, Rock Lee._

_"Oh yeah, she's always been watching you," Sakura spoke up._

_"Huh?" The blond revealed, oblivious._

He didn't know why he suddenly remembered that time of the Chuunin Exam preliminaries, in the midst the the Hyuuga battle. Perhaps it was the nagging silence that was now between him and his pink haired friend walking beside him. Whatever the reason, he now had a strange tugging at his heart. A confusing emotion was eating away at him.

The confused looking blond looked up at the sound of Sakura clearing her throat, probably attempting to break the silence. Looking up at her, he noticed the quizical expression on her face and prayed he wouldn't have to tell her what he'd just been thinking about.

"What do you wanna do?" The blond asked eagerly, hoping she wouldn't ask any questions. Every once and a while, he couldn't help but sneak a peak at the long sexy legs of his compnaion beside him, but each time he did, the tugging at his heart became more distracting.

"Train... My muscles are so stiff," she answered, while interlinking her fingers to crack her knuckles and stretch her arms overhead for added effect.

"Still?" He asked dubiously, recalling the frightful incident in the hospital.

"Yeah... she barely got me warmed up," she revealed nonchalantly, clearly underestimating her teacher. "Besides... I wanna see what you're really made of," she added with a smirk and a peak in his direction.

Naruto felt a tinge of fear but pushed it back long enough to speak, "I gotta do something first..."

"Like what?"

"I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei real quick," he replied, remembering his most recent dream waking up in the hospital.

"Oh, that's right. He said he wanted you to find him when you had the chance."

"Yo," said a voice out of nowhere, causing Naruto to jump a bit and Sakura to... well, freak out..

"Were you following us or something?!" Sakura screamed, brandishing her fists, becomming slightly embarrassed for no reason. Perhaps it was because it how her and Naruto were talking casually, smiling, walking side by side. It looked like a date.

The silver haired Jounin raised a curious eyebrow at her accusation. "Do you even realize where you are?"

Sakura paused to take a look around. Without even realizing it, her and her blond teammate had walked to the Monument Stone, which just so happened to be one of Kakashi hang outs.

"Oh..." She muttered. Naruto looked bored, but silent for once.

Just then, he decided to speak up. Completely changing the topic at hand and confusing Sakura at the same time, he said, "She has a 'kekkai genkai.'"

"Huh?" The pink haired girl let out, giving Naruto a strange look.

Kakashi looked puzzled at first, but understood a moment later.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I didn't catch all of it, but it was... 'Seishu Mano-' something..." He answered, ignoring the kunoichi, too caught up in his remembrance.

"Seishin Manako?" Kakashi blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yeah! That's it... Wait, how'd you know?" He asked, for once knowing something fishy was going on.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Sakura interrupted, becoming aggitated.

Kakashi stayed silent for a moment before taking a line from Ebisu, "Naruto, I am an elite ninja of Konoha... I know of many things you have never even heard of..." (well he is the 'copy' ninja)

"Don't give me that crap! I know a 'closet pervert' line when I hear one!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi wasn't seeing any way out of this. In a last desperate attempt, he said, "Tell me more about your dream."

"Oh, let's see..." He began again, easily distracted as usual. He started to recite his dream surprisingly accurate.

_"Like I said before, your mother was very powerful but almost no one knew of her secret jutsus," the woman continued her previous story. "Except me... and two others."_

_"What were they?" Asked the second familiar voice._

_"Well, they were jutsus that could only be performed with a special Kekkai Genkai: Seishin Manako. It was so rare, that your mother was actually only the second one in her family clan to have it since her Great Great Grandmother, therefore she was alone in its training and only had this scroll to go by... Over time, she added her own jutsus to it." _

Since he still couldn't see anything, he could only assume a scroll was handed over as unraveling noises were heard.

_"What the... It's blank. Wait- Whoa, did you see that? The words just started appearing!"  
"You're mother told me that only one with your blood can read the scroll, I still cannot see the words," she explained, rather conveniently._

_"Oh."_

"I think that's it," Naruto finished.

"Now! What the hell was _that _all about?!" Sakura butted in finally seeing the chance to be heard.

"Oh, Sakura-chan. I forgot you were here-" Naruto found himself with his face in the pavement almost the moment the words left his mouth.

"Watch it!" She yelled down at him. She forgot what it felt like to give him a nice beating, but decided to stop with the one punch to the back of his head.

"Hmm, interesting..." The masked man said slowly as he took in everything he just heard.

The blond got back on his feet with his usual whimpering and dusted himself off. "What's it mean?" He asked, returning to the topic rather quickly.

"I will have to do some... research. I'll get back to you on that," he said, not sounding too convincing and at the same time, unintentionally reminding Naruto of Jaraiya. Before he was stopped with any more questions, Kakashi took the chance to escape.

"Ugh, damn it Kakashi-sensei," Naruto mumbled.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Let's go train like you wanted," he suggested, hoping that would get her mind off his own dreams before _she_ started asking questions. Surprisingly, it worked.

"It's about time.. but don't you think I have forgotten about all this," she told him.

Inwardly, this earned Naruto an _"or not" _to him hoping his distraction got her mind of his dreams. Perhaps it was a bad idea to speak of it in front of her in the first place.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Seishin Manako? Are you sure you aren't mistaken?" The blond asked.

"Positive," the masked Jounin confirmed.

"Then this could only mean-"

_Knock Knock Knock_

Recognizing the low knock, though a bit frustrated at being distrated from the juicy bit of information, the blond called out, "Come in, Hinata."

The surprised Hyuuga opened the door alittle more confidently this time and strode right in, surprising Tsunade by her sudden change in demeanor, however small it was.

"You ready?" She asked the indigo haired girl.

"H-Hai."

Tsunade went through the same steps as before to retrieve the small black box. This, of course, caught Kakashi's attention.

"What could be so valuable-" He began.

Tsunade had opened the box to reveal its contents.

"Is that... a chakra ring?" He asked incredulously, almost not believing his eyes.

"Not just any. It's the Ring of Fukutsu. The last of its kind," she bragged.

"I-It has a name?" Hinata asked, unsure if she should interrupt.

"Yes, it does," she answered simply.

"You're not letting _her _wear it are you?! She'll die-"

"No," was her quick reply.

"Then who?" But then the answer hit him. "I see."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Hah, hah, hugh! Hee-ah!"

The sounds of a fight were underway.

"Hee-AH!" Panted the kunoichi as she landed a heavy punch on Naruto, but then POOF! The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He had become an expert in creating his clones in an unnoticable fashion and with switching between them.

Using his teammates strategy from before, Naruto sent a clone through the smoke to catch her off guard. The clone threw a punch at the pink haired konouchi but she simply sidestepped the attack, grabbed the clone's arm and fist and used its momentum to flip it and slam it into the ground.

"Hah! As if you could use my own strategy against me!" Sakura boasted as two more Narutos fell from the sky. Sakura barely dodged an attack from the first one and had to block a kick from the second one. She then countered with a back heel spin and hit the first clone in the head, or at least she would have if it hadn't passed right through. "Just a normal Bunshin?" She thought wildly as the unhindered speed of her own kick caused her to loose her balance.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

From a distance, the watching girl could see two hands come up from the ground and pull Sakura out from under the only foot she still had left on the ground. Falling, her head hit the dirt with a sickening thud, in turn to become light headed with an odd ringing sound in her ears. Just then, the real Naruto did a hand flip off the shoulders of the second Naruto and landed his heel down hard on Sakura's chest.

_"Hugh!"_ The wind was knocked out of her and could not breath as the pain overwhelmed her.

_Shink_, the quick sound of metal sliding against metal met her ears as Naruto pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch. The tip of the sharp blade soon met the smooth skin of Sakura's neck with perfect timing. He had her pinned and defeated.

In a voice Hinata could barely hear from in the distance, she heard Sakura let out a deep sigh, and say...

_"You trying to put me back in the hospital?" _She asked sarcastically, bringing a green glowing hand to her chest after Naruto rolled off her.

_"Heh."_ He layed next to to his winded teammate and put the kunai back in its pouch. They looked up at the heavy rain clouds cluttered in the sky for a moment before turning their heads to look into each other's eyes.

_"Good fight,"_ she said slowly, slyly inching her face closer to his.

She could easily see where this was going and she sure as hell didn't want to be there when it happened. On the verge of tears, she began to turn on her heel just as Tsunade stopped her.

"Face them. Quit running away from your problems," she said wisely while forecfully pushing the black box in Hinata's hands closer to her chest with one finger, reminding her why she was there in the first place. She was then practically forced to turn back around. Forced to watch. Horrified.

She heard him agree to her words as Sakura slowly moved her face even closer to his until their foreads touched and blond hair mixed with pink. Her lips inched closer to his until...

_'She has always been watching you...'_

Naruto turned his head away, a part of him finally realizing the feeling that was eating him up inside.

Sakura looked at him disappointedly. With a sad look etched on her face, she had a horrible feeling welling up inside her.

_Thump Thump Thump_

_"Naruto?"_ She said almost pleadingly.

Sitting up, he took a deep breath. So suprised by the thoughts racing through his head, he wasn't sure if the words had actually come out of his mouth over the thundering of his heart in his ears. _"I... can't do it."_

At that moment, Sakura would have welcomed another heel to her chest because what she was feeling now... was much more devestating.

"Well, I didn't see _that _coming..." Tsunade said, flabbergasted, next to the surprised Hyuuga.

Hinata didn't hear the rest of what they were saying as her heart was going crazy. _"I cant do it."_ The words replayed in her head over and over. He had the chance. The chance to kiss his long time love interest, but he didn't. He hadn't kissed her. What could have possibly stoopped him? Could it be...? She almost couldn't comprehend the idea...

_"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. I just don't know what I am feeling right now. And I can't risk hurting both of you..." _Were the words unheard by the pale eyed, pale faced Hinata.

She then refocused her attention back to the scene and frowned at what she saw while her heart almost fell out of her chest. She sort of wished she had been paying attention to know what led up to it, but they were now hugging... intimately. They exhchanged a few more words which she could not even hear...

_"Just... go to her," _she said, visibly trembling but knowing what she was about to say next was true.

_"She deserves you more than I do..."_Sakura could not believe the words coming out of her own mouth. It was so unlike her. It took all her effort not to burst out in tears right then and there. The feelings were welling up so fast, she was fit to burst.

For some unknown reason, she fought so hard for a guy that didn't acknowledge her, yet now she doesn't even lift a finger to fight for the one guy that always did.

And then they were no longer looking at each other... but at her instead. The Hyuuga froze wide-eyed like a deer caught in headlights.

Tsunade, who _had_ been paying attention, had hidden herself in a nearby tree before she was spotted.

Reluctantly leaving Sakura's side, who was now crying silent unseen tears, Naruto was walking towards Hinata at a slow pace. Unknown to Hinata, who was still frozen to the spot, unable to make her brain work at the moment, Naruto was walking slow, not because time had slowed down for the Hyuuga, but because he was trying to buy some time to figure out what he would say to her.

In a time span that felt like forever, Hinata was forced back to reality as she reached the end of her lung capacity. She had not realized she was holding her breath and through the thunder of her heart, she hadn't even heard the warning thunder of the skies.

From time going too slow to too fast in just a second, she was taken aback to see that the blond had already made it to her and enveloped her in a heart stopping embrace. For some reason she was dreading his contact because she was afraid of what was to follow, but after being in his warm embrace, all her fears... all her doubts melted away like they always did.

_"N-Naruto-kun..." She called his name, barely above a whisper while handing him a small tube like bottle._

_"What's this?"_

_"Medical cream," came Kurenai's voice behind him. ..."Just take it Naruto."_

_"Uh... sure... Thank, You're nice, Hinata!"_

"I'm so sorry Hinata. I never meant to hurt you," he whispered with a strange moistness in his eyes.

Hinata was dreading the impending _'but'_ of doom, butit never came.

"I was so unsure of what I wanted... of what I needed. I was so unsure of everything that I didn't know what I was feeling until now," he reasoned.

_'She has always been watching you...'_

"Y-Yes?" She questioned apprehensively. Naruto pulled out of the embrace, making her frown slightly in disappointment.

"It's you, Hinata-chan," He answered, looking deep into her eyes and her into his.

For just a moment, there was nothing but silence. She couldn't even hear the thundering in her chest anymore. It felt as though her heart had almost stopped. Was she dreaming? Of all the years she dreamt about confessing her love, was he confessing his... for her?

_"I may appear strong to you but... That's because I act all tough because I'm so frustrated with failing..."_

_"That's not true... Even when you always fail... In my eyes, you're a proud failure!"_

_"...!"_

_"When I look at you, I get this intense feeling in my heart... Because you're not perfect... Because you fail... You have the strength to get back up... Because I believe that's what true strength is... I... I think you are an incredibly strong person Naruto-kun..."_

_"Thanks, Hinata."_

"You were always there for me one way or another. You never judged me. You never insulted me. _You never hit me_," he added inwardly. Just then, something _clicked_ in his brain. His epiphany.

"And though I never saw it before, you always liked me." He paused for a while to see if Hinata was going to say or do anything. If she wasn't blushing before, she sure as hell was now. "Thank you... for everything."

He leaned in, slowly at first. See as how he wasn't getting any sort of resistance, he closed the distance between their lips. His lips swiftly descended upon hers, his arms pulling her in closer for a much more intimate feeling. She returned his embrace with her own, wrapping her arms around his neck She pushed back with her lips, wanting more but soon found herself falling back into darkness.

Naruto caught her as her legs gave out and her mind drifted out of consciousness. He picked her legs up to completely hold her in his arms. He smiled sweetly down at the blissful expression on her face. Her sleeping form was so peaceful... so happy.

Watching her contently, he noticed something slip from the corner of his eye. A small black box with a red ribbon had slipped from her gentle hands and rested at the incomplete crevice between him and Hinata's jacket.

Not wanting it to fall, he slowly knelt down and propped the back of her legs on his knee to keep her balanced and used his free hand to grab the black box.

_"Was this for me?" _He asked himself inwardly. He then put it in his pocket as to not loose it and stood up with the sleeping girl completely in his arms again, bridal style.

_**Thunder Clap**_

Meanwhile, a heartbroken Sakura still stood in the training grounds, watching what she wanted so badly. Her teacher and only friend at the moment came up beside her and pulled her into a comforting hug, making her turn away from the sight that would only make her hurt more. Sakura let herself cry into her chest as the emotional little girl inside showed herself. The emotionless persona that had rubbed off on her from Tsunade was absent. This time, she didn't have to hide her feelings.

The light sprinkle made it official. It was a sad day... for her. In a matter of minutes, it turned into a light downpour, but she still didn't care. Releasing herself from Tsunade's embrace, she looked up at her teacher and muttered her thanks and then looked back over to the other two that she had always secretly envied.

With Hinata in his arms, he jumped away and out of sight, presumably to get her out of the rain.

"Come on. It's about time we do the same," Tsunade suggested.

No reply came, but she slowly started walking away in the direction of her home. Tsunade followed closeby.

After a long walk and a drawn out silence, they were both standing out in front of Sakura's house completely drenched in the continuous rain. Sakura then turned around and gave Tsunade a weak smile and a half-hearted wave before going inside. Through their wetness, their clothing was almost completely see-through, but since everyone was inside hiding from the weather, neither of them cared. Tsunade wasn't sure if Sakura would have cared either way. It looked as though she was still crying, but with the rain, it was too hard to tell.

* * *

**A/N: **That definately turned out better than what I had previously written (Naru-Saku instead, but that ended up with Hinata have a bad pairing, ugh, couldn't live with it. So this is what I chose since before I started posting.)

I hope you guys enjoyed it. I worked hard on it and I think it turned out longer than the original too. This was definately the most emotional chapter in the story. Please review and let me know what you think.

Until Next Time...


	11. Epilogue

**Chapter Ten**

**Epilogue**

For some reason, Naruto was surprised to see her wearing a black sleeveless v-neck shirt with fishnets showing at the neck. In no way had it ever crossed his mind that Hinata would wear such pleasing attire that hugged her perfect form so nicely. For some reason, he expected to see more baggy clothing but was more than delighted seeing he was wrong. Quickly shooing away those 'Ero-sennin thoughts' in which he was infected with, he stood up to go turn on the heater to busy himself.

It was just barely approaching nightfall, though with clouds still blocking out the sky, it hardly made a difference. By now, it was now raining pretty heavily and the 'pitter-patter' of the rain was bec oming very soothing.

After sitting back down. Naruto watched innocently as Hinata's chest rose up and down in her Naruto-induced slumber. Rather than sitting in a chair, he would have much rather been laying next to her, but, like many things, he was not so sure that would be a great idea. It was bad enough that he had undressed her to get her out of her wet clothes. In all actuality, they were not in the rain for very long so she wasn't all that wet. The only thing that really needed to be taken off was her jacket, and so it was.

Minutes later, he found himself thinking about that very moment once again but was soon interrupted by a roaring clap of thunder that shook the walls and vibrated the windows.

Startled, Hinata snapped her eyes open but did not sit up. Almost immediately she sighed heavily. "It was all a dream?" She said to herself mournfully.

"Not this time," came the low cheery voice reminding Hinata of that time in the hallway. She did not entirely register that she actually heard his voice at that moment and did not imagine it.

_"Speaking of which..." _She thought. _"Where am I?" _She looked out the window to her left and, being a bit slow after just waking up, she didn't completely recognize the view, muddy with puddles spashing with droplets of rain. Feeling, or in this case, _not_ feeling the usual heavyness from her jacket, she turned her gaze from the window to look down at herself. She was surprised to see it was taken off her and placed who knows where. She quickly sat up at the sound of subtle laughter.

"I see you are up, but are you _awake?_" Naruto asked the confused looking Hyuuga who was just staring at him in bewilderment after bolting into an upright position upon hearing his voice. He then stood up and walked over to her, sitting down on his bed next to her.

"What-?" Her mind was fuzzy and she was much too distracted by his proximity.

"You fainted..." Seeing as this didn't make her any less confused, he continued, "It started raining so I took you here, since it was closest. I didn't want you to get sick, so I took off your wet jacket. Your shirt was fine but I figured you wouldn't want me to go any farther than that," he finished, nodding towards her slightly damp jeans.

Hinata was surprised and embarrassed at the same time at the given information but she had mixed feelings on the "going further" part. She blushed hard at the idea and tried to shake it off. She hadn't even noticed how fast he heart was beating, nor did she notice Naruto take another look at her nicely toned figure.

"Th-Thank you... S-So we're... at your apartm-ment?" She asked indecisively, almost too embarrassed to speak. She had only been in his apartment once, but this time, something seemed different.

Noticing that she was surveying his apartment, he asked, "You like what I've done? I used some money I saved up to make the place look better. Normally I wouldn't, since I'm hardly ever here anyways..."

Then it occured to her. _More furniture._ He had a couch and a few extra chairs... and a bookshelf?

"H-Hai," she responded distractedly even though she had not had the time to actually decide whether or not she liked the change, she knew she would anyways. She was busy looking at the bookshelf, or more specifically, the books. Naruto didn't seem like the kind of person who read much, if at all. There were only a few, but the titles were what got her... _The Inner Workings of the Mind_, _The Subconscious Mind_ and _Telepathy_ among a few others along the same subject.

"I know... they look more like something Ino would read. As a matter of fact, they _are_ Ino's. She let me borrow them. Personally, I was too busy to read them... _so I made my clones do it_," he added in a lower, possibly shy or ashamed tone. This earned a stiffled giggle from Hinata which in turn, earned Hinata a big smile from Naruto, still sitting next to her.

They both looked into each other eyes and Hinata blushed at the extra attention, an inner warmth steadily growing within her. She turned her head just slightly but did not break eye contact. Somehow, Hinata unintentionally gave Naruto the 'sexy look' as she watched him through the corners of her eyes with a sweet little smile placed upon her lips and her rose colored cheeks.

As strange feelings surged inside him as he let his instincts take over. With his left hand, he slowly glided his hand overs hers before taking hold of Hinata's, entertwining his rough fingers through her smooth petite gentle ones. With his other hand, he gently nudged her chin with a bent index finger in a way that told her to look more directly at him. She felt her face heating up even more as her heart pounded even louder in her chest. Instinctively, they both began to move in closer.

_**Thunder Clap**_

Once again startled by the loud noise, she flinched and blushed even harder at her awkwardness. Naruto simply smiled in return, still moving in closer. In a time that felt like forever, soon they were just inches apart. So close now, they could feel each other's hot unsteady breath on their skin. Closing thier eyes with the expectancy of lip contact, deep down they expected some sort of interruption.

_"T-This isn't a dream... T-This is really h-happening!"_ Was all she could think, stuttering even in her thoughts as frantic emotions clouded her mind.

Their lips came togther softly. Knowing his rough nature, Hinata was surprised by how gentle he kissed but even that thought quickly faded away as a deep hunger within her awakened and she was soon pushing her lips harder against his just like before, eager for more. Hoping this was enough to let him know she wanted more affection, she silently prayed like never before that she would keep conscious. She was silently surprised to feel his hot wet organ trying to squirm its way into between her lips but gladly accepted the offer and soon found herself mimicking his actions.

They were caught in a passionate liplock that didn't seem to last long enough as they broke apart for much needed air. They brought their foreheads together as they looked into each others' hungry eyes, speaking unsaid words before they dove back into their steamy experience.

Naruto softly placed his left hand on her cheek and placed the other on her thigh, gently rubbing it and once in a while, giving it a playful squeeze for added effect. From their sitting position, they slowly fell back into the fluffiness of the bed. Still deep in their makeout session, Naruto slid his hand from her thigh slowly up and over her butt and left it resting on her lower back, pulling her even closer so their bodies now touched.

This earned Naruto a soft moan as it escaped from his partner's lips, still in contact with his own. Though slightly surprised at first, he somehow knew this was a good sign. Continuing the motion of his hand, he gently rubbed up and down her back, massaging her muscles with his fingers.

In a mess of blond and lavendar hair, their makeout session came to an end as both pulled away in mutual contentment.

Sighing happily, Hinata surely wouldn't have minded continuing but they were satisfied for now and neither one tried to hide the big flustered smiles and heavy blushes they wore on their happy faces; nor could they control the conjoined rythm beating against each other's chests.

"I-Is this really h-happening?" She thought out loud, not expecting to get an answer.

"It really is," the blond answered softly moving in for one more kiss on the lips. He pulled away with Hinata's lips giving a sort of chase. He smiled amusedly at this before pulling her closer and closing his eyes for what he though was just a second.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"12:20 AM," she read aloud. "He should be barging through that door any second now... wanting answers," the blond woman said more to herself than to her assistant.

Shizune was tense, very tense. She knew, or she thought she knew, that the now peaceful silence would soon be ruined by a very loud, interrogative blond boy.

_**Awkward Silence (crickets?)**_

"Maybe he fell asleep before he opened it?" Shizune optimized, openly dreading his arrival.

Tsunade simply sighed in response. Part of her, if not all of her, wanted to believe in Shizune's words but figured it would be too good to be true.

Preparing for the onslaught of questions soon to come, she reached for the mind numbing 'juice' in her drawer.

A loud disappointd sigh was heard to her left as Shizune looked disapprovingly at the bottle.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok! This was the last chapter of **Part One.** So, maybe some of you hate me for ending it right there, so sorry about that, but no worries; **Part Two** is already out so just continue reading, yay! I haven't forgotten about the _ring _or those dreams_._ Those will be taken care of in part two as well. Reason for cutting the story off now is because the plot changes drastically from now on, focusing much more on the Action/Adventure/Mystery portion.

SO! Look for the sequel: _**Family Ties, Truth Be Told. **_It's there :)

Let me know what you guys think. What did you like? Dislike? Anything that would help me improve my story?

Until Next Time...


	12. Reminder

Just in case you guys haven't checked up on its progress, the sequel, _**Family Ties, Truth Be Told**_ is up and updated! Check it out.


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